White Rose
by Venza
Summary: Old knowledge and power lost between the centuries was reborn into a young girl. Follow her path into an unknown future... - Chapters 1 to 3 are prologue - Rated M for language and later content - OCxGaara - On hiatus until August SRY
1. Cold Summer

White Rose

**So this is my first attempt to do a Fanfiction. I started this project to improve my English skills and to have fun. I'll be happy to see your ratings and reviews.**

**I do not own Naruto**

**Edit: I've put some of the chapters together since they alone seemed so awfully short**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

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* * *

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Cold Summer

There was this white light surrounding myself. I couldn't help but stare. I didn't know where I was, neither what I was doing here. After a while I could identify petals falling from the white light i would call a sky. A beautiful smell entered my nose and for unknown reasons I whispered something into the air: "White rose..."

I felt so comfortable in this unknown light that I closed my eyes. I could feel every petal gliding to the ground although none of them touched me. And the scent of this flower sent my body to a far and distant place, a long forgotten memory. A memory that I had no access to.

As a petal touched my lips and the light began to fade I hesitantly opened my eyes again.

I was resting with my back on a grass field staring at the sunset. Slowly I could identify my surroundings. It seemed to me that I was in a forest, the temperature told me that it was probably summer. A small river was flowing beneath my feet. I sat up while wondering where the light and the white petals had gone. As I moved myself closer to the river I could feel my head was aching terribly. I looked at the reflection of myself in the river but couldn't remember the face I was looking at.

The person in the river had a young but athletic body. Soft, ruby lips and ruby coloured eyes. The slightly tanned skin looked hypnotizing in combination with the pure white hair that had a single bloodred streak hanging down the right shoulder. The colours of the persons skin, hair, eyes and lips fitted perfectly together. As I lowered my head to the river to take a closer look, I spotted slightly pointed ears. Unbelieving I started to touch my ears and a bit later my whole face. The feeling on my fingertips and my cheeks reassured me that I was looking at my own reflection. Slightly irritated I started to wash my face with the icy but fresh water from the river _'I guess I'll get used to my reflection soon... at least I hope...'_

As I felt refreshed I looked at my clothing. I wasn't wearing a lot at all, besides that my clothes were filthy and drenched in blood, I felt ashame of my appearance. I looked at myself again. I wasn't sure if the blood was mine or from somebody else, so I thought I'd better check myself for injuries. Mostly I found a few scratches and a bruise, but the only bloody injury I found was on my head. It didn't bleed anymore, but it quite hurt when I touched it.

I decided to wash myself since I was so messed up. I took a look around to see if somebody was near before I undressed myself. Trembling I entered the river and began to wash my body and my so called clothes, they were merely made out of rags. I really wished I had something more comfortable than that, but I couldn't change my position now, due to the fact that I had no idea where or even WHO I was. I stopped at this thought. I would most probably need a name until I remembered my own _'If that would ever happen anyways...'._

I searched my head for some names as I continued to wash my body. After a while I was cleaning my feet, wishing I had at least a tiny bit of soap. There was this spot on my ankle which was covered in dirt and I could rub as hard as I wanted, the mud hardly left it's position. A few minutes later I gave up on this apparently impossible attempt to make that thing go away. I couldn't help myself, I just had to know what the hell was sticking so hard to my ankle.

I bent over to analyze that spot on my left foots ankle as I was hit hard by something and fell together with the unknown thing into the river. _'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!'_,I took a deep breath of fresh air by the time I reached the surface of the water. The water temperature gave my body a hard time swimming to the riverbank where I had left my clothing. I had been quite occupied cleaning myself up so I hadn't noticed that the night had already fallen a while ago. The water was surely cold, but after I left it I felt even more miserable. Quickly I picked up my clothes and hid my privates just to realize that somebody was approaching my position. My body stiffened due to the cold and the fear I was feeling. I couldn't move an inch while the human shadow moved closer to me. I lost the feeling of my feet, _'DAMN! How did it get so cold in such a short time?!'_

I took a glance at the river to see what had hit me just to realize that the surface was turning into ice. Since I was drenched, the water on my body was now completely frozen and left me immobile. Only my eyes and my mouth were able to move a little bit. What the hell was happening?! And how was it possible that a complete river froze in such little time?! By the time the shadow was standing right in front of me, his eyes inspected every inch of my body: "What a beautiful little girl. I think I'm going to take you as a reward for finishing of that shinobi... I guess you're freezing, let me change that." My eyes widened, I watched the man do a series of symbols with his hands, I was so scared at this moment. As the man stopped moving his hands the water on my body started to become warmer and warmer. As the ice melted I sank to the ground giving out a relieving sigh. "Just stay here lovely... I'll be back as soon as I killed that annoying, little vermin...", I just couldn't look into his eyes, scared as I was I pressed the rags I had so tight to my body as I could. The man slowly left my position and walked over to the middle of the iced river, I took the chance and slowly moved away searching for a hideout. I found a few bushes that gave me somewhat of a shelter and dressed myself quickly.

After a short while I could hear ice breaking, fighting and earth rumbling. That man was probably fighting with that what he called a shinobi. I didn't know why that word sounded so familiar, but I decided that I didn't want to be the reward for his triumph over that shinobi. Before I stood up to run away an unpleasant thought stung my head - _'He can manipulate water... What other abilities might he have?... He didn't stop me from crawling to the bush... Running away is probably useless...'_, a feeling in my stomach confirmed what I was thinking.

I sat there behind the bushes listening to the two humans fighting, the sound was hypnotizing. My ears seemed to recognize some of that noise. I closed my eyes and in my imagination I could see every move the two of them made. I opened my eyes again and started to watch the two fighting persons. I really wondered that my eyes could follow each and every move both of them made. They were both moving at such a high speed, I could hardly trust my eyes. I had never seen something like this before, but since I didn't have a lot of memories stored in my head, that wasn't so hard at all. I sighed hopelessly at this point.

I started to study the appearance of the two fighters, maybe I could remember something if I saw something familiar. The man who could manipulate the water had a pair of wide, black and white camouflage trousers, a black tank top, black shoes and bandages all over his arms. His hair was short and the colour was a really dark shade of blue. He looked so scary. It was written all over his face that he wasn't a nice guy at all. It's like he had a dark aura around him, I could have sworn that I had seen something. My senses went to alarm and panic struck my head. If he was going to kill this shinobi and I would be his prey, he would most probably do terrible things to me. I prayed at that moment, that this terrifying man wouldn't win the battle.

Filled with panic I analyzed the human that was fighting this monster. The shinobi was a man dressed in quite dark clothes. Dark blue trousers – dark blue, long sleeved shirt – black shoes – green west – a dark blue headband with metal on it – dark blue hair and a beard – a quite sympathetic face and some symbols here and there on his outfit. One of the symbols looked like the symbol of fire to me. I didn't know how I knew that but there was something else that caught my full attention. His headband and the symbol on it. I knew that I had seen it somewhere before, on a photo, somebody was wearing the same headband, but I couldn't remember who was wearing it. This thought irritated me, but now was not the time to think of it. I watched the shinobi and the monster fight again.

Their fight was merciless. Both were using totally different weapons and techniques to fight each other. The monster had a weapon made of iced water. I wondered how he could manipulate the water that it didn't break on contact with the metal weapons the shinobi was using. The shinobi used two short blades that sometimes seemed to glow blueish. Their fight went on until the shinobi made a fatal step.

The result of this fauxpas was like spikes in my eyes. The shinobi hit the ground with a big, bleeding wound and the monster above him was laughing, ready for the finishing stroke. I couldn't watch! My hopes were fading! I didn't even notice that I started sobbing and crying by this time. I closed my eyes tightly and pressed my hands against my ears.

_'Please don't let him get me... please... please...'_...

* * *

The next thing that happened scared the shit out of me. While I was crying, sobbing and praying I couldn't see or hear a thing that happened between the monster and the shinobi. I knew that one of them was dead by now. My tense body was waiting for what would happen next, but nothing seemed to happen. The waiting in combination with the tension was unbearable. After a while I started to relax and to slowly calm down a little bit.

As I was about to open my eyes again I felt a hand on my shoulder. My body and senses tensed again making me ready to run away in panic. I almost jumped up, although I knew pretty well that I wouldn't stand a chance. I didn't know why, but nothing happened. The hand left my shoulder again '_What is his intention? What will he do to me?...' _After a short while I felt his hand again on my hand. His other hand was doing the same. He tried to get my hands of my ears, but I insisted on not doing what he wanted. The monster put more strength to his actions so that my grip loosened a bit, I heard him say something: "You... okay... man... you?" I couldn't understand everything he was saying, but his voice sounded so different. I wasn't sure what to do. The person in front of me still pulled my hands away from my ears and tried to talk to me: "Are you... girl? Did that... you or... you?"

I gave up at this point and let him control the movement of my arms: "W.. W.. What did you s.. s.. say?", I hiccuped. "I was asking if you were alright girl. Did that pedophile slave trader touch or hurt you?", this voice sounded so warm and kind, totally different to the monster I had in mind. I slowly opened my puffy eyes to see the shinobi kneeling in front of me: "Did you understand what I was saying? Are you okay girl?"

I was so relieved that I started to cry again. The man let go of my hands as I hugged him tightly and we fell to the grass because he couldn't hold his balance anymore: "Heh, kiddo you got me of guard there... I could use a cigarette...", he muttered. I just kept on sobbing into his green west: "Thank you... thank you... thank you..."

"Just calm down girl. He won't come back to hurt you, but could you please get off of me, I need to take care of some injuries...", I sat up and helped him to do the same. I stared at his big bleeding wound: "I'm sorry... I was just so happy that, that monster didn't kill you. I would have been his reward if he did, that's what he said and it scared me so much! I didn't know what to do and... and... and...", I was crying again bathing my cheeks in salty tears.

"Just calm down kid. It's gonna be okay....", I tried my best to calm myself down and managed to stop crying, "Good girl. Now, could you try helping me with my wounds?", I gave him a quick nod. Together we went to the river that was flowing like nothing had happened. I looked around but couldn't find the corpse of the monster. The shinobi must have taken care of that somehow while I was waiting behind the bushes for something to happen. At the river I ripped a off a bit of cloth from my so called shirt, leaving my belly uncovered: "I'm sorry but I don't have anything else", I drenched the fabric in water and started to cleanse his wound, luckily it wasn't bleeding that much. "It's okay. I lost most of my stuff during the fight. I'll have to help myself with what I find. Anyway, tell me how you got into his collection, I need some infos from you..."

"Uhm... I... I don't think I was in his collection..."

"You don't think you were in his collection?"

"Well... I actually don't remember...", I could feel the blood rising to my face. I felt so ashamed.

"How did you get to this lake?"

"I... don't remember...", I lowered my head because I didn't want to look into his eyes.

"How old are you?"

"I... don't know..."

"What's your name kiddo?"

"... don't have one...", I murmured. He probably didn't hear that.

"What did you say?"

"I... I... don't have a name...", I stopped cleaning his wound.

"You okay girl?"

"No...", I took a deep breath. Since this man saved me I thought I could trust him, "I just woke up about an hour before your flying body hit me. I can't remember anything that happened before I woke up. I don't know how I got here, where the heck I am or who I am...", I was looking into his eyes. Maybe he knew something, maybe he could help me.

He just sat there for minutes, staring into my eyes before he broke the silence again: "I can tell you're saying the truth. You probably have amnesia or a special Jutsu must have been cast on you."

"I think it's amnesia. I have a spot on my head that hurts really bad when I touch it, but tell me... Why should I lie to you? And what is a Jutsu?"

"You really don't have a clue do you?", I shook my head.

He sighed and raised his hand to my head: "Lemme see that wound...", I bent forward so that he could examine my injury. It took him quite a long time before he pulled his hands away and I straightened up: "Looks pretty bad kiddo. You sure you can't remember anything?"

I shook my head again.

"Okay girl, listen up. I'll go to the next village with you, it's not far away from here. They have a medical practice there. The doctor can treat our wounds properly and we can rest in the inn. I will see what I will do with you afterwards. On the way I'll tell you some things that might save your life girl", I nodded with a little concern written on my face.

"Don't be afraid", he smiled, "I'm one of the good guys, I'll help you", I smiled back at him.

After a while he let out a loud sigh: "Well, since we are traveling together we'll need a name for you", he kept looking at me as I changed my position from kneeling to sitting '_Phew, much more comfortable...'_

"How about Bara-chan?", he smirked.

"Where did you get that name from?"

"Your tattoo looks like a rose so I thought of Bara"

"What tattoo?!", I looked shocked at my body.

"On your ankle. Not even sure it is one though...", he pointed a finger to my ankle.

I remembered the suspicious thing on my ankle I was going to investigate before this shinobi hit me and focused again on that point. He was right, it seemed to be a tattoo. It looked like a rose, but not like a real one. More like an ornament or an tribal, some kind of symbol: "Haven't seen this before...", I mumbled.

"So? Like the name?"

"Yeah", I looked up and smiled, "I think I can go with that. Although I think I'll need some time to get used to it."

"I can imagine that, kiddo..."

"So, Bara it will be..."

"Well in that case... Nice to meet you Bara, my name is Asuma", he smiled and gave me a short nod...


	2. The journey and Uwasa

White Rose

**Chapter 02 haha**

**Never thought it would be done this fast Have fun, I'm fast. **

**_giggles_ I can't believe some people really are reading this, though I'm totally new to this**

**I do not own Naruto**

**Edit: I've put some of the chapters together since they alone seemed so awfully short**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_

The journey and Uwasa

My journey with Asuma did go pretty well. We weren't attacked, nor were we followed by anybody. In between some complaints about not having a cigarette he taught me everything I had to know about ninjas, shinobis, their politics, the different countries and their villages. Just anything I would need to know and was permitted to know as a non-shinobi. As he mentioned Konohagakure I kind of remembered hearing that name somewhere before, but I kept that to myself because I really enjoyed listening to him. I just didn't want to interrupt him, but sometimes I couldn't help myself. I just had to ask a lot of questions. I took all the information I could get.

We walked all day long and rested in the night. Sometimes I would check his wound and clean it a bit. He never seemed to complain so I figured it was okay for him. I think he kind of liked me and I for myself felt pretty well in his presence. Sometimes he walked up a tree to look for traps or did a number of Jutsus for reasons I couldn't understand. Most of the time I didn't know what he was doing, but I never minded. I really trusted him. It's quite funny that he gave me my name and now was calling me kiddo most of the time. It didn't bother me since he was a bunch of years older than me and I kind of liked the sound.

"Asuma?", I took a look through the campfire we made to watch his face.

"Yes?", he focused on me.

"I can remember that you told me it wasn't so far to the next village, so... We are now walking for days, shouldn't we get there sometime?"

"Aahh, kiddo... If it wasn't for you... I mean, you couldn't hold my pace, you know? Besides, I usually run over the trees and you can't even climb them."

I frowned: "Can't you teach me? I'm sooo hungry and my back hurts from sleeping on the bare ground. I could really use a bed and something more to eat than berries or sometimes a fish."

He frowned back at me: "Well you know, if I wasn't injured I would have carried you to the next village kiddo. But I have to admit that I'm hungry too. I guess it wouldn't hurt if you gave it a try", he slowly stood up.

My eyes almost popped out of my head: **"You serious?!", **I instantly got up my feet,** "So you are really going to teach me?"**

"Stop yelling Bara, you're going to wake the whole forest."

I stopped yelling: "I'm sorry... I was just excited since I'm ... ahm... no...", I mumbled the last part of my sentence while my face slightly blushed.

Asuma sighed: "I said you could give it a try. I'm not even sure you're going anywhere up a tree with your feet. Besides, I've told you that normal shinobis start their basic training at about six to eight years. I actually do believe you are older than that and have NO experience with chakra."

"I know...", my eyes headed for the ground, "It's just so amazing how you do that, I just want to be able to do that too... Besides... I felt so helpless by the time when you fought that monster... I don't want to feel like that again..."

Asuma narrowed his eyes and watched me carefully: "Do you want to become a shinobi?"

I hesitated: "I'm not sure... Maybe that's to much... I mean... I can't imagine killing somebody, but you said sometimes it's necessary...", he kept his gaze fixed on me, "I just want to protect myself a little. Something like walking on the trees like you do, to not get caught that fast or being able to free me from a choke-hold. Just some small tricks?... There must be things a non-shinobi is allowed to know and to use right?"

He started thinking about something but after a while he answered to my begging: "Okay kiddo. But just a few small tricks. A little basic stuff and maybe you'll even figure out how to walk on trees, but do me a favor okay?", I nodded agitatedly, "Please don't yell like that again when you are in a forest, you might attract unwanted attention and don't tell ANYONE what I taught you. I've already told you that secrecy is a very important thing in this world, so don't forget that."

"I promise! Asuma – ahm – sensei?"

His face froze at this point: "Okay, another thing kiddo. Don't call me sensei anytime okay?", he started mumbling, "I cant even remember when I had my last cigarette..."

"Because people would know that you teach me things?"

"Well, that too, but I feel like an old gramps when you call me like that. And I'm surely NOT that old."

I tilted my head to the left: "How old are you anyway? I never came to ask you."

"25."

"Aah..."

"Now, if you want to learn something you better get here so we can start", he pointed to the ground on his left hand side.

I walked over to him and soon he was telling me different things about what chakra was and how it was produced. He also taught me some basic moves in martial arts. We were training for about two hours before we went to sleep. The next few days as we walked along he talked a lot about some basic techniques to defend myself. Sometimes he started to talk about how it was for him when he was about my age. He used to drift off to some memories never minding that he was still talking and I was listening carefully. It kind of made me happy, made me feel like he did care about me. Every night before going to sleep we trained walking on trees and I got better every day. One night as he was asleep I just had to train on my own, I felt like I had to prove to him that I was able to stay on the tree without falling down again.

Expectedly I fell to the ground and not just once. I fell at least a hundred times before I figured how to stay upside down hanging from a tree. I was so happy, I didn't even realize that I was training the whole night. The sunlight stung my eyes as I walked back to our little camp. I grinned to myself. I would make Asuma a big surprise as soon as he would wake up. Usually he was the first to wake up and then wake me, but this time I was waiting for him to wake up.

About fifteen minutes later he slowly woke up and yawned. He looked over to the place where I was supposed to be resting. I guess his eyes went wide open in shock as he realized I wasn't there: "Bara?!", he quickly stood up and looked around, "**Bara**?!"

"Good morning Asuma."

He turned around and looked at me hanging from a tree and grinning: "Whoa kiddo! That wasn't nice to give me such a bad shock... Am I still dreaming or have you really managed to stick yourself to that tree?", he crossed his arms over his chest and looked a bit proud.

"I couldn't sleep. I just HAD TO try it harder", I grinned broadly while I walked down the tree again.

"I can tell you didn't get it right at the first try, did you?"

I blushed slightly of embarrassment: "No... How did you..."

"Know? Well if you'd look at your clothes you'd probably think the same."

I looked down at my clothes. They looked dirty and busted: "I hope we will reach the village soon. I don't have anything to change..."...

* * *

Since I was able to stick myself to a tree the journey became so much easier. I managed to move as quick as Asuma did after he showed me how to jump through the trees. I was getting pretty good at this aside from enjoying it. It was almost like flying, or at least it felt like it. I felt free and invincible, though I knew very well how vulnerable I was. The ground moved with such an incredible speed under my feet while I was moving through the large forest. I couldn't stop grinning.

As we were traveling, Asuma taught me some more things so that I could take care of myself. One day had passed after I had managed to use my chakra to climb trees. The second day was dawning and the night slowly fell upon us as Asuma abruptly stopped. Clumsy as I was I bumped right into him and nearly fell to the ground. Luckily I managed to stick myself upside down from the branch: "What's wrong?"

"We are there."

"You mean we reached the village?"

"Almost."

"Huh?"

"We'll walk the rest kiddo. Should be about 15-20 minutes", he jumped off the tree and landed gracefully on the ground, "Are you waiting for an invitation?"

I looked down at him before I let myself fall: "Yeah", I landed grinning on my feet, "How is this village called anyway?"

"Uwasa", he placed his hand on my back and pushed me forward, "Now kiddo, less talking more walking and we'll have a warm bed tonight. Besides my wounds are aching, you should be checked and the doctor won't be in his practice all night."

I stared walking on my own: "Okay, so we better get fast there... What did you say? 15-20 minutes?", a smirk crept over my face.

"Yup."

"I give you ten!", without a warning I ran laughing into the direction where Asuma had pushed me. I didn't look back because I wanted to reach the village before he did. I didn't even bother that he wasn't yelling my name. I just had some fun in that moment.

After I ran a while I wondered where Asuma got to, but I couldn't stop running because I was seeing the village. Panting for air I stopped in front of the entrance of Uwasa. As soon as I calmed a bit down I was looking for my companion: "Asuma?"

"Right behind you, kiddo...", I jumped up unvoluntarily, screeched and turned around to face him.

"How the HELL did you get over there?! I couldn't even SEE you!", I pointed my finger at him.

"That will stay my secret I propose. Now let's get you and me to the doctor, okay kiddo? And don't forget what we've talked about", I nodded my head.

Now that I had my companion again I noticed that the village had a big wall, but no guards were near the entrance: "No guards?"

"They used to have some a few years ago, before Uwasa determined it's neutrality. Whoever attacks somebody inside these walls is most likely dead before he even can think of his second move."

"Huh?!"

"If a ninja rises his weapon against somebody in this town AND hurts him on purpose, every other ninja here has the right to kill him. If you only defend yourself you are free to do whatever you want."

"So this place is pretty safe, huh?"

"You can say that", we were now walking to the doctor.

"What about banned ninjas or traitors?"

"They have the same rules as we do. The laws of Uwasa are untouchable. It doesn't even have it's own ninja-clan to prove it's neutrality. It doesn't even accept active shinobi to live around here."

"And there were no problems in this village since the neutrality thing?"

"Nobody dares to try and break the laws, not until now at least. And I believe that won't happen now nor later."

"Okay. I think I get the idea. This village is really special, right?", Asuma laughed at my statement, "Whaaat?"

"You'll see soon enough kiddo..."

"Don't avoid my question."

"I'm not. I'm just pretty sure you'll find that out for yourself", I frowned.

"Whatever you say...", I sighed and gave up.

Asuma stopped his movements. We had arrived in front of the medical practice. There was still some light inside the house. Asuma knocked. I could hear some noise from the inside. Soon after that, the door opened and an older man looked at the two of us. He blinked a few times before his mouth opened: "I haven't seen you in a while... You and your companion come in...", he turned around and left the door open.

Asuma pushed me through the door and closed it behind him: "I need some medication"

"I could have told you that too... What about the girl?", the old man glanced at me.

"I need you to examine her...", the old man looked at me.

"She looks quite fine to me..."

"Do me that favor, okay?", Asumas facial expression was quite serious.

The old man sighed: "As you wish. But I'll take care of you first", he turned around to face me, "You stay here until I'm done, girl. Just sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable, okay? If your thirsty there's some water", he pointed to a table near the couch he had mentioned. He turned to walk away but stopped his tracks a moment later: "And if your looking for the toilet... ", he pointed to a corridor, "Can't miss it", the medic continued walking.

I gave Asuma an uneasy smile. He smiled warmly: "Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'll come back as soon as possible", he gave me a short nod before following the doctor. I watched the two man disappear before I sat down on the couch. While I was waiting I used my time to train what Asuma had taught me.

About an hour later the old man came back to me: "What's your name girl?"

"Bara...", I was a bit nervous.

"Okay Bara, follow me. I'm going to check you now", he turned around and I followed...

The medic brought me to a small room containing different medical instruments and chemicals. It smelled like disinfectant. For the examination I had to undress myself to my panties and undershirt. It felt somewhat uncomfortable, but on the other side I was really glad, that I didn't have to wear those dirty rags for a moment.

The old man looked at my body and studied every inch. He made me bend and stretch while asking different questions. Sometimes he touched a spot on my body with his hand which gave me a prickling sensation. I admired his use of chakra, I could see the green light coming from his hands. After a while he made me lay down while he continued to use his chakra on me. I didn't know why, but as he touched my forehead my vision blurred and I lost consciousness.

_Again there was this light surrounding me and this unbelievable smell. I felt weightless. I opened my eyes and saw the white rose petals. It was almost the same like the first thing that I could remember. But I could sense that something was different this time. As I watched the petals closely I could see that they were slowly mixing up with red ones. I closed my eyes again and my mouth started to move on it's own: "White roses to the dead... Red roses...", I stopped because the rest of this sentence was somewhere hidden in my subconsciousness. Suddenly I felt a warm embrace. It was so good. Once I knew this warm feeling that spread through my body. But that was a long time ago..._

_To soon I felt the warmth leaving me again. Leaving me alone, unsafe and vulnerable to the darkness that longed for my being. Yes, I could feel it. It was grabbing my body, pulling me to it's existence. I opened my eyes, hoping to see the wonderful being that had given me this warmth just a moment ago. I could hardly see what I was longing for. And my sight was now fading due to the fact that the darkness was consuming me. It wasn't my wish to leave the light, mine was to stay. But I was weak, I was helpless and worst of all..._

_I was alone..._

_I knew that I couldn't do anything to stop the darkness, but I didn't give up. Even though my body wasn't able to obey me, in my mind I was still fighting, refusing to give in. I struggled as much as I could, but nothing helped. I was to consumed by the darkness..._

Suddenly my eyes popped open. Somebody was shaking my body: "Bara? Wake up, you've slept long enough!", I blinked a few times before I realized where I was.

"Huuuhh?...", I was to sleepy for more than mumbling.

"Wake up or you'll miss breakfast!", a pair of strong hands shook me again.

"Wha...? Food...? Whad time...?"

"It should be around ten o'clock a.m. And I don't remember that waking you up was such a hard job, kiddo", the blanket was torn away from my body.

"Gimme just... a minid... ", I turned to lay on my belly. After I stayed like that for a minute or two I rose up and yawned.

"Are you now finally fit to get up and dressed? I actually don't believe, that you want to stay just in underwear while we eat breakfast", I recognized Asuma in front of me, "I've washed your clothes so you won't feel that uncomfortable. Now get going, I'll be waiting in front of the door", he left the room as I collected my stuff.

I didn't know why but even though I had this bad dream, I was smiling. Was I happy because Asuma cared about me? I smiled again and blushed slightly. The feeling that I wasn't alone was pleasing my longing for warmth a bit. I giggled as I dressed myself. I was happy.

After I was done I left the room to meet up with Asuma: "You finally done kiddo? I'm starving out here."

I gave him a questioning look: "How long have you been waiting that your starving?"

"I woke up at about eight. You were making some strange noises while sleeping. Seemed like you had a nightmare."

"Huh?! You mean you were sleeping in the same room as I did? But there was just one bed and I was in it."

"I slept on the chair. The doctor didn't want to leave you alone, but he had an emergency call, so I had to look after you."

"Aah...", we walked along, "Why didn't you wake me if I had a nightmare?"

Asuma looked at me: "Hm... You calmed down after a short while. I thought you'd be okay again. Besides, the doctor said that you needed a good amount of rest."

"Oh, yeah? Then why did you wake me up anyway?"

"Because you need some nutrition to recuperate totally. He had to do some research and healing on you that weakened your body. So in order to get healthy you had to sleep for at least eight ours and now you'll eat some food he made specially for you, okay kiddo?"

"I get it. But..."

"No buts now kiddo. Let's just get to breakfast and we can talk then, I really need something to eat."

"Okay", I remained silent until we reached a sun flooded room with a large table and a few chairs around it.

A warm voice called out to us from a nearby room: "Heh, Asuma, looks like you couldn't wait any longer for breakfast", I figured it was the medic that entered the room with loaded plates, "Good morning Bara. How do you feel today?"

I watched the doctor place the plates on the table: "I feel okay."

"Any difference to yesterday?"

"No, or at least I haven't noticed anything."

"I have to apologize since I didn't introduce myself properly last night. I had a busy day and I was really tired."

"Uhm, I didn't mind. It's okay. Apology accepted."

He smiled warmly: "Well then I will introduce myself now. My name is Teron and I am the medic of this village", he gave me a nod.

I smiled: "Nice to meet you Teron."

"Now you both take a seat and eat some breakfast", he turned around to the room I could identify as kitchen, "I'll be right back with some more to eat."

Asuma and I sat down while Teron was busy in the kitchen: "Do you need any help in the kitchen Teron?"

"No, I'm fine Asuma. I might be already 50 but you know very well, that I'm always in good shape", he came back with more plates filled with tasty looking food, "I have a medicine in the kitchen for you Bara. You'll have to take it before you begin eating, okay?"

"Okay. Are you going to join us?"

"As much as I would like to stay and eat together with you and my good friend Asuma, I'm still medic and I need to take care of my patients", he left again to the kitchen. I took a glance at Asuma, who was sitting on his chair, leaning against the table, patiently waiting for Teron to come back with my medicine.

"There you go", Teron had put a cup filled with blue, milky liquid in front of me, "So, as soon as you'll be finished you can leave the dishes next to the sink in the kitchen. I'll be going now, have a nice day."

"You too", Asuma waved his hand shortly.

"Bye Teron", I watched him leave the room, "He seems to be very nice."

"He's okay when he's not tired, but I can assure you that you don't want to meet him before he had his coffee in the morning."

I giggled: "I can imagine that."

"Now don't you try and save yourself from the medicine. I'm going to take care that you'll drink it."

"Okay, okay. I'll take it right now", I lifted the cup to my mouth. The liquid smelled sweet so I tasted it, "Wow! This tastes actually good! Really good!", I emptied the cup.

"Now let's enjoy our meal", Asuma grabbed his chopsticks and began eating.

I watched him eat. Now that he could fill his stomach I could start asking him questions. I mean, he had told me that I could do that after I woke up. I wanted to take the chance: "Asuma?"

"Hm?", he chewed a piece of boiled egg.

"What did the doctor find out?",...


	3. New born bonds

White Rose

**So here you get chappy 03**

**I'm quite eager on writing this story at the moment because I've got all these ideas that I NEED to write down before I forget them**

**Finally I've finished the prologue, chapters 1-3 were Bara's POV, the rest will be (mostly) 3rd person narrative**

**Rate and Review is highly welcome and keep me going (motivate me and I'll write faster), thanks and have fun =)**

**I do not own Naruto**

**Edit: I've put some of the chapters together since they alone seemed so awfully short**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_

New born bonds

"Some basic things", he continued eating.

"Like?...", I starred at him and wondered _'Is he just teasing me or is he trying to hide something?'_

"You have amnesia", he took a bite from a piece of bread.

"I could have told you that too", I rolled my eyes and began eating, "I'm pretty sure he told you more than that."

"Yeah", he lifted his head from the food to face me.

"Yes, continue...", I grabbed me a piece of bread.

Asuma swallowed his food: "He told me that you are about eleven years old, but he couldn't tell when you have birthday."

"And when did you want to tell me?", I put down my chopsticks and looked at my plate.

He stopped his movements: "After breakfast, I told you I was starving..."

"What else did he find out?", I didn't know why, but I was feeling he was hiding something.

"Not much. Things like: You're a girl, you have an injury on the head, you have a few scratches and bruises, you're more mature and smarter than other girls your age...", he took another bite of boiled egg, "You're a virgin...", my head met with the table as he said that and I blushed wildly.

"OH GOD... "

"Naw, come on kiddo. You should be happy about that, you're just eleven!", I felt so embarrassed.

"I am, but..."

"But?"

"Don't know. I just thought it might be something very private or something?", I lifted my head to face him again, "You know... Things you usually only share with your family? People who are close to you, that you can really trust?"

"And who do you suppose would that be?", I stopped moving which he noticed, "Do you trust me?"

I hesitated: "I.. I do..."

"So? Who would that person be you would want to know or tell, that you're eleven, a girl and a virgin?"

I remained silent for a few moments an thought of the things he was saying: "You...", I looked him straight into the eyes, "You are the only person I have. You're like my family... I guess..."

"In that case you should be fine with me knowing everything about you, right?"

"I think I am...", I was pretty sure with the answer, but I was still a bit uncomfortable admitting it.

"You should eat now something before it's all gone", he pushed a loaded plate into my direction and patted my head, leaving my hair messed up.

I just gave him a nod and ate. I still had the feeling that he was hiding some information from me, but I was too shy to ask. Somehow he was right, I did trust him. And at this point I trusted him that he would tell me everything I needed to know.

I smiled at this thought. Asuma was like a father to me. He cared about my health, he taught me all the things I had to know and his warm smile gave me comfort. I really liked being near him '_He really IS a good guy.'_

Asuma and I finished our breakfast in silence. As we took care of the dishes I couldn't hold my tongue any longer: "Uhm... So... What now?"

"I'll get myself a room in the inn. Teron needs the rooms for his patients and there's always some noise around when he's working. Besides, I don't want to stand in his way, he doesn't like that at all."

"So you are going to stay here?"

"Yup. I've sent a message to the Hokage. Now I have to wait for him to decide what's to do next. As long as I'll be waiting, I'll stay in this village."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"You can do what you like, as long as you don't leave the village, kiddo. But I suggest you let me take care a little bit of you, since you don't know anybody around here."

"Why ain't I aloud to leave the village?"

"Because it's dangerous outside the village for you all alone. I don't want you to get hurt, kiddo. Just taking care of you."

"Do I have to stay here? I mean,... Since I haven't got any money... Don't know where to sleep..."

"You can join me if you want. And don't worry about the cost, I'm inviting you. Since you're a child it shouldn't be too expensive."

I smiled: "So we're heading for the inn now?"

"That's what we're doing", he patted my hair again.

"And what're we doing afterwards?"

He gave me an irresolute look: "Don't know about you kiddo, but I thought of a bath. I feel like I haven't seen soap in ages."

I giggled: "Yeah me too. I'm going to take a bath after you're finished, okay?"

"If that pleases you...", he smiled, "Shall we go?"

"Is it far?"

"It's almost around the corner, just a few streets from here."

"Then let's go."

* * *

I used the time Asuma and I needed to get to the inn to look around the streets of Uwasa. The village was filled with life now that it was day again. I could see shinobi from every village and different clans. There were young ninjas and old ninjas, males, females, students, masters, medics, assassins and whatever they would call themselves. Somehow I could feel a lot of tension between some groups that had build in the streets, but none of them dared to raise a fist. As we walked I could also hear some distant noise that probably came from just a few meters outside of Uwasa. I could imagine the battles that were going on outside the walls. I felt a bit uncomfortable, knowing that all these people were deadly from head to toe. Between all these ninjas there were just a few civilians, _'Uwasa isn't that big so it can't have a lot of villagers I guess...__'_

I tried to ignore most of the shinobi, but I could feel their eyes starring at me. I knew that I was looking quite exotic with the white hair and the tanned skin. I couldn't see anybody who would look even a bit like me. Yes of course, there were people with tanned skin like me. Asuma was one of them, but none of them had my blazing white hair, not to mention the crimson streak...

Even my ruby eyes seemed to get a lot of attention, I could see them glaring at me, talking behind held up hands, some of them smiling, others smirking evil. The clothes I was wearing only made it worse. I really wished I could just disappear in the crowd, just be like everybody else was. I didn't enjoy the attention I was getting at all.

Asuma stopped his tracks in front of a huge, wooden house: "Here it is", he turned to me and smiled, "Let's get in there."

"A.. Asuma?...", he hushed me and pushed me into the house. Silently I followed his moving while trying to calm myself, _'Don't be so nervous! Everybody is being treated the same way here! You're nothing special, so just relax!'_.

My thoughts were interrupted by a friendly voice coming from the other corner of the room I had entered: "What can I do for you two?", it was an old but very nice looking woman. Immediately she had my sympathy.

"A room for two persons please", Asuma took control of the conversation while I looked through the foyer.

"How long will your stay be?", the woman opened a book and began writing.

"At least two days, afterwards I'll have to see if we'll be staying longer or not."

"That's just fine, we still got enough rooms. And I think I've got just the right place for you and your daughter", immediately I froze.

As I opened my mouth to object I was hushed again by Asuma: "I'm sure we'll be just fine, isn't that right, daughter?", his eyes told me I should not object to this.

My cheeks warmed up because I felt happy about it, even though it was just a lie: "Of course, daddy!", I gave Asuma and the woman the brightest smile I could bear.

The old woman smiled herself: "You sure have a cute daughter. Anyway here you have the keys to your room and don't mind asking me for anything you need."

"In that case", Asuma pushed me closer to the woman, "Would there be a possibility to lend her some clothing until we go buy some? We lost some baggage on our way and she couldn't change since then. She feels quite uncomfortable", I just nodded. He was right anyway, I felt very uncomfortable.

"I think I could find some clothing in her size, since my granddaughter should be around her age and she surely wouldn't mind. I'll bring some things to your room in a short while", I shyly smiled her a thank you.

"Thank you. Just one more thing."

"Of course, what can I do for you?"

"Would there be hot water for us two to take a bath?"

"Surely. I'll arrange that in a minute. You two just go upstairs and everything will be prepared."

"Yes, thank you", Asuma turned to face me, "Let's go princess."

"Okay, daddy", I smiled and walked to the stairs. Asuma closely followed.

After a while we reached our room and entered it. It wasn't very big, but it looked nice and comfy. The bathroom was about the same size, the bathtub was filled with hot water.

"Asuma?", I eyed him.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't we tell her the truth? I got a feeling that she knows I'm not your daughter..."

"She does know."

"Huh?"

"We didn't tell the truth because of other listeners", at this point I realized, that he wasn't wearing any shinobi signs. He must have taken them off by the time we were at Teron's place.

"You mean shinobi outside of the building?"

"Yes, the foyer isn't safe like these rooms are, everybody can listen. While we're in the room feel free to talk, but not outside, okay?"

"Got it, but how can she know that I'm not your daughter?"

"Because Aya down there knows me pretty well. She's Terons older sister. Teron told her we were coming."

"Okay, now I understand. So if we leave this room you're my father?", I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Exactly... you look so happy...", Asuma frowned.

"I know it's a lie, but it feels like it was true, you now?", my eyes wandered around the room, "How you take care of me... I mean, I don't know, or at least I can't remember how it feels to have a father, but I believe that it would feel just as it does now", I blushed and smiled again, "I'm really comfortable around you."

Asuma first looked surprised but his facial expression changed to a warm smile: "Heh, don't make me blush kiddo."

At this point a strong connection between him and me was born. It really felt like father and daughter, at least I felt that way.

We talked all day, Asuma taught me more things about the ninjacountries and the systems of leadership. Mostly I listened to him, but sometimes I inserted a piece of my thoughts into the conversation. We even went together into the bathroom and talked while bathing. We didn't look at each other while in the bathroom because I still felt kind of embarrassed, but it was really nice. I did feel very comfy around him, like he was my family, but we knew each other not long enough to bathe together like real families did. Later some clothing was brought to us by Aya. I just picked a shirt and a skirt and got dressed. My hair washed I could finally brush and fix it. It curled up a bit, but I liked it that way, hanging loose over my shoulders and down my back.

"You look cute", Asuma had changed to more casual clothing.

"You think? I don't know, I feel kinda… erm... flat?", I analyzed my upper body in the mirror.

"You shouldn't think that way in your age", his face looked puzzled, "Your still growing, your body is changing, so don't you worry about it, okay?"

I laughed: "I was just joking, don't bother it."

Asuma sighed: "Oh well, I do like how these clothes fit you, but we better go and buy you some of your own."

I nodded and we went to a nearby shop. We bought just a few things, mostly because I didn't want to waste too much of his money. I kept promising him, that I would pay him back once I had my own money. He just gave me a smile and kept walking as if nothing were. There was one last thing I wanted to buy before returning to the inn. Asuma had given me some money to buy whatever I wanted as he went to do some things he couldn't tell me about. He wanted me to go to our room as soon as I was finished. I used the time given to buy what I wanted and returned to the inn.

Aya welcomed me as I entered the foyer: "Hello there, wheres your father?"

"He went to buy some things, he should arrive later", the old woman smiled, "Erm... Aya?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Would you have some time to help me with something?", I stepped closer to her.

"How can I help you?"

"Could you help me cut my hair? I do like long hair, but mine is almost reaching the floor, it's heavy weight."

"That shouldn't be to much work, sweety. Just follow me to the my private room and we'll take care of that."

"Could we do this too?", I grabbed a cardboard box from a bag and showed it to her.

"We can do that, but it will take longer."

"That should be fine", I smiled, "I'll just go and leave a message for dad if he shows up before we're done, okay?"

"I'll be waiting here, sweety."

Quickly I went to the room Asuma and I occupied and left a note before returning with some clothes and the box in a bag: "By the way I'll give you back your granddaughters clothing."

"That's okay, now let's go get your hair done", smiling she went to a room in the back of the inn. I followed silently.

Time flew by as Aya and I talked about different things while we were taking care of my hair. It turned out that she and her brother were quite opposite. While Teron was quite grumpy on the outside, Aya was tenderly. But Teron had some soft spots and moments too, I couldn't help but giggle at this statement. About an hour later a knock occurred from the foyer. Luckily Aya and I were already done. Together we walked to the source of the knocking, it was Asuma and he stared at me.

"If you were looking for your daughter, you found her", Aya smiled.

Asuma took a strand of my hair: "You've colored it", he let go of it and scanned my new appearance, "And you've cut it. Nearly didn't recognize you, but it fits you."

I turned my head to look into the mirror behind me, I really looked different. My hair was crimson now, just as my streak was. Bangs were framing my face, my hair was reaching to my upper body slightly curled up. The image I saw, for the first time I could identify with it. Smiling I turned to Asuma: "I wanted a change."

"As long as YOU are happy with it."

"I sure am", smiling I walked to our room.

After that Asuma and I spent a few days together, it seemed that he was still waiting for a message. I didn't care a lot about that, I forgot that he would be leaving some day and that this father-daughter-thing was just a lie. We went to a playground and played on a swing, it felt so great. I didn't even mind Asuma smoking all the time. I grew closer to him day by day.

Aya let us stay for free since she liked us, still I couldn't let that pass. I started working for Teron and Aya to earn some money and food for me and Asuma. I learned cooking, cleaning and a bit medical stuff while Asuma did his secret things. I even got to know Aya's daughter and granddaughter, Mya and Natsuki. Instantly I connected to Natsuki and we became friends, she was only two years older than me. Since Mya's and Natsuki's skin was about the same color as mine, I could have been mistaken for their relative. I felt sorry that Aya and Mya had lost their husbands, but life went on.

Every morning Asuma and I had breakfast together, as every noon we had lunch and every evening dinner. In the morning I would errand things for Teron and in the afternoon cook together with Aya's family for the evening's guests. It felt like heaven on earth for me. A week and a half passed like this before I was woken one night by some strange noise: "Dad?... That you?"

"Go to sleep, darling", he gave me a heart-warming kiss on the forehead, but I was already to alert to sleep again. I scanned the room and saw that Asuma was packing his things together, all of them.

"Are you leaving, dad?", he stopped his movements, "When will you be back?"

Asuma sighed, it sounded sad: "I don't know, Bara."

"Dad? Where are you going?", I sat up and watched him carefully.

Asuma stopped his tracks: "Konoha..."

"Should I pack my things too?"

"I can't lie to you..."

"What are you saying dad? What's wrong?", I clutched myself to his left, upper arm.

"Let go Bara, I'll be leaving soon."

"But what about me?", tears fought their way to my eyes.

"You're not coming with me."

"Why dad?! Why can't I come?!", I was crying.

Asuma grabbed my upper arms: "Calm down Bara! I am NOT your father, keep that in mind."

I kept crying like the world would end: "But what about me? I don't have anyone, I don't have a family. You are everything I have!"

Asuma sighed again: "Listen Bara, I have to leave and you can't come with me. I do like you, kiddo. Your so naive and innocent, I think that hardly a being could resist you, but I can't give you more than mere friendship. I've talked to Aya and Teron. Since you are helping them and Natsuki and you are such good friends, you can stay here. Mya would register you as her daughter, so you shouldn't have problems finding a place to fit in and live. I promise I'll visit you from time to time and we can have some fun those days, okay?", he hugged me tightly, "You'll do great, even without me, I'm sure."

I had calmed down at his words: "You promise to visit?"

"I promise I'll come as often as possible. Maybe I'll even bring along some friends for you, how's that?"

I smiled: "Just come back once in a while and I'll be happy", I hugged him back, "Can I write you letters?"

"That should be fine, little one."

Soon he left. Leaving me with a new family. I can't say that I wasn't happy. I was happy, really. I had fun with my sister and grew close to my mother, grandmother and granduncle. But still, sometimes I missed Asuma the time he wasn't near. Often I wrote him letters and sometimes he came to visit me.

Life was wonderful until today...


	4. Shocking news

White Rose

**Here's where the fun part starts, some important informations are revealed hehe**

**I hope you enjoy it**

**Some of you might have noticed that there are less chapters than before, I didn't delete them I just merged some of them together since they looked so awfully short, story is still the same**

**Rate and Review is highly welcome and keep me going (motivate me and I'll write faster), thanks and have fun =)**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_

Shocking news

Two and a half years had passed since Bara was left with her new family. Now she was helping out at the inn and studying basic medics at Teron's office. Natsuki was now fifteen years old and started falling for handsome boys in her age. Mya loved her new daughter, but to Bara's embarrassment she tried to couple her since she was twelve. Bara's family seemed to be odd, but it made her happy that she wasn't alone...

* * *

"Bara, I need you in the kitchen!", a female voice shouted through a filled restaurant.

"I'll be there in a second mum", a young crimson haired girl shouted back, "Excuse me, I'll bring your dinner as soon as possible."

"No hurry beautiful, we don't want you to mess things up", a dark haired man answered smirking.

The girl smiled and left to join her mother in the kitchen, _'I just hope the tips make up for his awful behavior'_, she arrived in the kitchen, "Can I lend you a hand mum?"

"Be so kind and cut me the vegetables, **woah** you look annoyed... "

Bara took a knife and started cutting the vegetables into slices: "We've got one of THOSE customers again, they just drive me crazy mum. It's getting worse every day... "

"There's a very simple reason for that you know?"

"And that would be?"

"You're growing to be a very beautiful woman."

"**WHAT?!**", Bara turned to her mother.

"Oh please, don't be that oblivious! Every man likes a beautiful girl and you surely are one."

"Get serious mum! I'm just me, I haven't changed at all since I came here!"

The mother stopped her tracks and eyed the girl: "Stop fooling yourself Bara. You became taller, more beautiful, less naive, more intelligent, more skilled in many things and most important for men, you have a really nice pair of boobs!", the womans hand pointed to the girls upper body.

Bara blushed madly and screamed in embarrassment: "**MUM?!**", instinctively she clasped her hands to her mother's mouth, "Are you crazy? Somebody could have heard that!"

The woman freed herself from the girls clasp, it wasn't the first time that something like this happened: "Oh, calm down Bara. One day you'll want to have a boyfriend just as your sister Natsuki and you'll be happy for your womanly traits."

"Well how about you get her married before you even bug me about such things? Stop trying to couple me mum! I'm just thirteen and a half years old and I've told you I have absolutely no interest in men, at least for now. If I should ever change my mind you'll be the first to know, got it?", the girl turned annoyed to the vegetables and cut the rest.

Her mother sighed: "Just don't get into trouble with the customers again, okay?"

"If Asuma was here, he would beat the hell out of those lecherous assholes, if they'd even look wrong at me... ", the girl sighed, "He wasn't here since one and a half years... I can't believe I really trusted his words when he told me, he would visit me. He didn't answer my last letters either, I wonder if he's still alive... "

"I'm sure he's fine, sweety. He's just busy, okay?"

"Yeah... ", a displeasing grunt left the girl, "Mum?", Bara turned around because she was finished with the vegetables.

"Yes darling?"

"Do I have to be nice to all of the customers? There's this scary, pale guy that gives me the creeps..."

"Just keep in mind that we need the money, okay?"

"I could work more for Teron, that's money too you know?", the girl's voice was filled with sadness.

"Oh, honey... I'm really sorry, but we need you here at the inn, there's so much work around... "

Bara sighed in defeat, taking four dishes to go and deliver them.

Suddenly her mother had an idea: "How about I let you do some of the deliveries next time and your sister will be here with me?"

The girl changed her attitude immediately: "Really?! That would be great, mum!", a big smile plastered Bara's face, "I'll deliver these now."

The woman smiled as the girl left the kitchen, _'So cute and so innocent... No wonder the men like her... Ooooh!!! I can't resist bugging her... Note to myself: Setup new plans for coupling!'_.

* * *

"I just can't remember where I've seen this girl, I'm sure I know her or at least I'm familiar with her face... ", a pale and black haired man hissed to his companion.

"Do you want me to do some research on her?", his companion had gray hair and a pair of glasses.

"I want you to start that as soon as possible, I do believe she could be of importance."

"I will proceed as you wish Oro...", he was interrupted by Bara who was now standing in front of them.

"Did the meal please you?", the two men nodded, "May I bring you something else?"

"I would like to know your name little girl", the dark haired man spoke.

Chills went up and down Bara's spine, she felt incredibly uncomfortable near this strange snakelike person: "That would be Bara... A-anything else... ?", the girl was near shivering.

"We're just fine, thank you Bara-chan. We would like to have the check please."

The girls heart nearly stopped as the strange man spoke again: "I'll b-bring it to you, just a m-moment please", Bara walked away, happy that she could leave this frightening presence for a short while.

"Did you see that Kabuto?", the pale man silently asked his companion, "She was like instantly afraid of me. I've never seen someone frightened before they even knew who I am. This could be very interesting."

"Shall I start the research on her this night Orochimaru-sama?", Kabuto whispered to his master.

"Yes!", he hissed.

* * *

Later that evening at the medics house Bara sat at a table, a book about medical care in her hands . She tried to read it, but there was something bugging her mind. Bara kept watching her granduncle: "Uncle?..."

"What is it Bara?", the old man was preparing some medical instruments.

The girl put away the medical book she was supposed to read: "You know Asuma better than anybody else I know, right?"

"I guess you can say that, but why the sudden questioning?", Teron put away the instruments.

"It's just... Do you know if he's fine?...", a questioning look followed Teron's movement.

"Hasn't he told you himself? I thought you were writing letters?"

"You know... he hasn't answered in months... I'm kinda worried..."

Teron patted the girls head: "He's probably on a longer mission, don't you bother. I'm sure he'll answer as soon as possible."

"He hasn't visited me for a long time too... Is it because I changed? Doesn't he like me anymore? What if he never comes back again?...", Bara curled up on her seat, sniffing at her own words.

Teron sat next to her: "Don't think like that... Where did you get those ideas from?"

"While I was doing some work for you... ", a deep sob escaped her mouth.

Bara was near crying: "I've accidentally read some of the messages you've exchanged with him... "

"What messages?!", Teron's mood changed quick to grave concern, but he held his voice quite calm, "What did you read?"

"I-I didn't read it all, but...", the girl had a hard time talking between her sobs, she was crying bitterly, "He won't come visit me anymore... I-I know it!... My letters will never be answered... W-Why do I keep writing anyway?!... "

"Calm down Bara", Teron laid a hand on her shoulder, "What do you know?"

"I know that it's my fault... It's something about me... Something in my blood... That's why I'll never see him again!", Bara tore at her hair and Teron was not the person to intervene, "Is it my hair? The skin? My eyes?! **What's wrong with me uncle?!**"

After a few minutes Teron hushed Bara's sobbing, embracing her. He really was not the guy for such things but he knew that the girl would need at least a bit comfort. Those messages weren't supposed to reach her eyes – EVER. He should have taken more care about that, but he was getting old... Maybe too old for all of it...

The girl in his arms slowly calmed again: "Please tell me... If I'll never see him again, at least I want to know why... Don't keep secrets from me..."

Teron sighed in defeat, Bara knew probably too much to tell her different: "I'll tell you, but I have to warn you to keep it a secret. Don't tell it anybody, not even your mother or your sister", the girl in his arms nodded silently. Another sigh left his old lips: "The day Asuma brought you here, do you remember that day?"

"Yeah... "

"While I examined you I found some anomaly in your blood. First I thought it might be a rest of passive bloodlimit from an unknown clan or something. You know that not every child earns the powers of their parents, there is always a small chance that the bloodlimit fails to evolve. That doesn't happen often, but it can happen... I wasn't concerned about you until I checked you again, that time you were ill. It looked like it changed, but I still was sure that wouldn't mean anything", Teron took a deep breath to calm himself.

"By the time I checked you again you were twelve. As I saw the new genes, that had built I was shocked. It looked like your blood was evolving on it's own, like there was something waiting inside you to wake up and your body was preparing the awakening. I made different research on your blood and found some... INCREDIBLE information... "

"What information?"

"Bara... It might be difficult to understand what I will say know, but please just let me explain, okay?", the girl nodded again, "You are not totally human... "

Bara was totally shocked, fearfully she looked at the old man: "I.. I.. What?... How?... "

"It's hard to explain and I couldn't believe it myself. I've seen a lot in my life, but you sure are... incredible... You see, I've searched through old myth's for an answer to your being. I'll have to start different to explain everything to you... Do you like to have a cup of hot cocoa before I start?"

"That would be very nice, uncle... ", Bara had calmed now.

"I'll get me some coffee too, the explanation might take a while. I'll be right back...", Teron let go of the girl and made his way to the kitchen.

Bara made herself more comfortable on the seat, she was all tensed up. She wasn't prepared for the truth, but on the other side... How could you prepare for something like THIS?

'_I never wanted to be somebody or something special and now THIS... But I guess I opened a door I can't close again..._', her thoughts raced through her mind.

Teron came back with a cup of cocoa and another one with coffee: "Be careful it's hot", slowly he sat on the seat opposing hers.

Unsure of what to do Bara took a sip of the sweet and hot liquid. The sugary taste calmed her nerves and relaxed her body. Bara's guess would have been that Teron had added something to it to achieve this effect. Thankfully she drank more while listening to his words.

"I've told you once about the nine-tailed fox that destroyed Konoha since you've been interested in it. There are more beats like this, with different numbers of tails. There should be exactly nine of these tailed beasts. This is what most of the elders know, but what less people know is where these beasts actually came from. I had a hard time finding this information, I must admit that I had some help of old friends, but thats not the point. The beasts are the sons and daughters of the old gods, long forgotten in time. Due to the fact, that the beasts were born from incest, they had many defects and less powers than their parents. For example they weren't able to assume a different form of being. To do some more easy translation for you Bara, they were bound to their physical form as beasts and nearly pure energy. They couldn't even exist among their parents so they were given this country we live in. Humans already lived here and were said to be a creation of the old gods, everyone of them gifted with a special power. It's a tragic story how humans ended up fighting each other and fighting and catching the beasts but it's not of your interest. The important thing for YOU are the old gods... ", he took a deep sip of his black coffee.

"You mean they still exist?", Bara stared at her cocoa.

"I believe that at least one of them does. The thing is, that they are not allowed to intervene in this world. They might assume human bodies, visit us and maybe give important information... Ha, even have romances, almost whatever they like. What do I know what keeps them entertained... Anyway it is also said, that one of the gods loved a human woman. She didn't know anything about him except that he shared her feelings. He stayed with her, living a human life but at a point in their lives there was a problem... "

"A problem? What problems would a god have?"

"The woman wished for children, but her body was unable to bear a gods child. Every day she came crying to him that she wouldn't become pregnant until one day, he couldn't resist her tears anymore. He loved her too much to let her suffer, so he changed her. Her body was changed to be able to bear the fruit of a god and a human in love. The child, being half human, surely didn't have the power of his father. In young years it didn't even have it's mothers power, but as time passed by it's body changed, gained power, became stronger, powerful. The child achieved many great goals in his life, but never changed the fate of the world that much that it would have been an intervention of a god."

"What are you saying?"

"The god that loved the human didn't break the gods laws by giving his beloved a child of his own... You see I believe that you are", he was interrupted.

"A halfgod?! You must be kidding me!", her eyes widened, her body froze.

"In hundreds of years there is probably only one halfgod born, I think that is you. Trust me, I couldn't believe it myself, but I analyzed different things from you and compared them to data I have about a tailed beast. I found matches on chakra and other, complicated things. I don't want to spend the night explaining everything to you. That would take weeks anyway...", Teron grunted in annoyance, "Don't even want to think about the tests I've done... Look, I can tell you this: Your powers will grow every day until you are grown up. One day you will gain a bloodlimit or even more than one, you will have greater powers than most of the shinobi living in this world. I don't know about your mother, but if she was powerful as well you might even have the power to withstand one of the tailed beasts. You will gain unique traits, that probably no on else will have ever, not even your own children... But you have to be careful. If somebody EVER gains this information, he will want to use you for his own desires. Especially now, as long as your power is still developing, you could be beaten easily and held captive for who knows what reason!"

Teron now saw that Bara's mind was absent. He grabbed her upper arms and shook her: "Bara? Did you listen to what I've said? Asuma stopped the contact with you to keep you safe and you should take care not to loose one word about this!", he shook her again, "Bara? Listen to me!"

Teron suddenly realized how heavy the arms felt that held the girls frame. Bara had fallen unconscious with half opened eyelids, '_That was probably too much information at a time for the poor girl... _', he sighed lowly, '_She most probably would have had a wonderful life, if she never had found out about her nature... Plus I'm not very good at emotional stuff anyway... I better let her rest in my room and tell Mya, that she won't come home tonight... _"

With great effort Teron brought Bara to his room and placed her on his bed. Bara herself dreamed of a nightmare, that she hadn't had in years...


	5. Encounter

White Rose

**More important things are happening and soon secrets will be revealed...**

**Still I have to warn you, this chapter contains strong language, some lemon and rape as issue!!!**

**Rate and Review is highly welcome and keep me going (motivate me and I'll write faster), thanks and have fun =)**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_

Encounter

A pair of eyes shot open inside a dark room. It took a few moments before Bara realized that she was in Teron's room and what she had experienced was just a nightmare. Breathing heavily she sat up in the bed hugging her knees. Bara was drenched in sweat and tears, she felt horrible, 'I haven't dreamed of this monster in years... Oh God... I felt so much pain... '

A slight stench tickled Bara's nose, she needed a shower, badly. She wanted to go and use Teron's shower but by the time she had reached the door to leave the bedroom she stopped. All memories of last evening came crushing down on her. She, a halfgod?!

'_Teron must be playing a bad joke on me... I'm just plain me... Just plain, old, talentless Bara... _', an unsure sigh left her lips and her fists clenched, '_I don't recall Teron making jokes... He's not the person to do that... But it can't be true! __**NO!**_'

Bara needed to clear her mind and get rid of the salty sweat that was covering her body, but she didn't want to meet Teron, nor did she want to go home... A few minutes later she opened the window and jumped out of the room, running down the street that lead to Uwasas' exit. Not far from the town was a small lake, this was where she headed to. Bara hadn't been there often because she always was busy doing something, but it felt right to go there and relax in the pleasing tempered water.

After a few minutes jumping through the trees she arrived at her destination. The lake was calm, nothing was moving. The girl double checked the surroundings before she took off her clothes, leaving her only in underwear. Dipping a toe into the water she slowly entered the refreshing water, her muscles slowly relaxing, her mind drifting into emptiness.

Bara closed her eyes slowly and took deep breaths of fresh air. The surroundings were giving her what she was looking for, silence. Silently she took a deep dive into the water, leaving a rapidly disappearing path of crimson color on her way. Since the color she used for her hair was made of natural ingredients it easily wore off. Bara had learned to produce the color herself and used it frequently. By the time she reached the surface again her hair had changed to a pinkish color.

The girl analyzed her reflection, '_Maybe I should stop coloring it red... Maybe I should try blue or black? Maybe get back to my original color?... _', she sighed and grunted ironically, '_If I had never read those messages I would've never known about my... Heh... Don't even know how to call it... Who am I kidding by denying it anyway?..._ ', she drifted on the water looking at the star-filled sky, '_I tried to ignore it, but I felt the changes in me... I can see and feel more than before... I can feel my increasing chakra... Teron must be right... My body is developing... I have to accept the facts... I am no mere human.._.'

Drifting peacefully through the water Bara followed her thoughts, trying to cope with her own situation. At a point she decided that she wanted to continue her life as it was, together with her family, just like nothing ever happened. She was happy just as it was, so why would she want to change something? Recalling happy memories she kept floating on the water until she felt a presence.

"Well, well, well... What cute fish did I catch here?", Bara instantly turned to the source of this. It was the lecherous man she had seen while working that day: "This must be my lucky day, since I found you here all alone and not in the village. Plus you seem to be half-naked, less work for me to do", he took her clothes and ripped them into pieces, "How about you get out of the water so I can play with you?", he licked his lips delightfully.

'_Damn it, what should I do?!_', the girl stayed in the water, not moving an inch.

"Aw, come on sweety. Do you really want me to get you out of there? Do you want to play with me?"

"Go away asshole!"

"Didn't your parents teach you to be nice, little girl?"

"FUCK OFF!"

"Tz, tz, tz... I guess I'll have to teach you then..."

"**PISS OFF I SAID! LEAVE ME ALONE! JUST GET L**oo-aA**AAH!!!**", Bara was grabbed by a clone and pulled out of the water. Instantly she used some of the moves that Asuma had taught her to free herself, but she only fell into the water. Since she wasn't able to walk on water she was trapped. Whatever she tried she was only caught again by the clone.

Her attacker just laughed at her attempts to get away: "I would recommend you to stop that. It's useless. I'll have my way with you unless somebody comes to save you. Since it's the middle of the night and we're nowhere, I doubt that anybody is here."

"**LET ME GO YOU FUCKING PERVERT!!!**", the clone was tying her hands together and carried her to the original. Bara didn't give up yet, she kept hitting and biting the clone although it had no use. Soon her hands were tied above her head to a tree, her feet fixed: "Don't you dare touch me!"

The man slapped her really hard on the right cheek: "I will do whatever I want to do, little girl", afterwards he released his clone and slowly took off his vest, "I must admit that you were incredibly tempting with the crimson hair in the inn, but pink is also fine... I actually don't mind what color your hair has, as long as your face is as beautiful as it is now. And I don't mind what you wear since your body is so... arousing..."

"Stay away from me you sick and twisted psycho", Bara gritted her teeth, she was angry, her heart racing, adrenalin pumping through her veins.

Another hand came flying to her face, this time he slapped the left cheek: "Maybe I should explain you how this will work. I give you two choices. Either you choose pain or you choose pleasure. Whenever I hear something from you that I don't like, I will give you pain. If you hurt me, I will give you even more pain. So whenever you're a bad girl, I will pay you back."

"Get lost and fuck yourself sicko!", the words left her mouth on her own, she glared daggers at him. The answer to this came immediately. The man punched her hard in the stomach, the pain spread rapidly through Bara's body.

"The more you behave badly, the worse the pain will be. But I tell you, if you start being a good girl, I'll give you pleasure. I might even give you the greatest pleasure you will ever know. Would you like that?"

Bara's heart stopped beating for a second. Suddenly she felt so weak. Whatever she tried to stop him, it wasn't enough! This bastard would rape her there and then! Tears built in her eyes, but she tried to keep hold of herself, she wouldn't give up yet.

"Is the poor girl afraid?", his tone became mocking, "Are you going to cry? I like tears... Good girl. You've deserved yourself a little pleasure", the man took his Kunai and cut Bara's bra so that it fell to the ground. Bara instantly blushed, she really hated where this was going: "Don't touch me!"

He fondled her neck, caressing her skin, she shivered under his touch: "You are beautiful, little girl. It's hard to believe that you are just about thirteen. Your body is so well developed... So hard to resist...", his fingertips slowly slid down to her breasts, playing with them.

"Stop... ", her body reacted to his touch. A tear ran down Bara's cheek. He smirked and licked the tear of the burning skin. This was all so disgusting, but still she felt the heat build up in her body: "You... are... disgusting!"

This time he bore his Kunai into her left hand. Bara screamed in agony and shed more tears, but on the other side she was relieved that the pain had stopped the feeling in her. After he pulled the weapon away he patched the wound quickly: "Bad girl... Be careful what you do, I'll wound your other hand next time and if you continue further, I won't patch it up anymore."

Bara cried: "Don't hurt me... Don't touch me... please...", she pleaded.

The man purred into her ear: "I love the way you are pleading to me. I want more of that, maybe I should pierce the other hand too?"

"**NO!** **Please!** Please don't hurt me, please don't do it!", Bara wished inwardly that something would save her now. This man was crazy, taking pleasure in her this way. If she denied him, he would kill her. But if she let him continue, he would rape her. This was the worst day in her life.

"Good girl", he purred into her ear before licking the earlobe. She hated it, but still it caused a reaction in her. Slowly he kissed his way to her nipples while she cried. What he did to her caused multiple reactions in Bara's body. She could feel her body heating and her senses slowly going crazy. She couldn't deny that his touches were arousing her. She hated it, every second she hated it more, her body was betraying her. It felt so wrong, so forbidden...

After a while she couldn't hold back the moans anymore: "Please... haah... stop... please.... hhhnn..."

He stopped sucking her nipples: "Your getting me really hot girl...", he took of his shirt leaving him topless, "But your face still looks so pitiful... I want it to be clouded by lust and hunger... Don't you like what I'm doing? Or should I proceed to the next step?", his face neared hers.

"Please don't do this! Don't take my first kiss!", Bara was pleading helplessly, she had lost her power to his touches.

He stopped his tracks: "Hhmmm... I almost forgot that you must be a virgin... ", his lips formed a sly smirk, "This will be much better than I thought..."

He moved again, trying to kiss her, but she refused: "Please don't kiss me, please!"

"Shall I use my Kunai again?", his look was frightening.

"I beg you! Please!", Bara sobbed between her words, "I beg you!... Please... Have a heart... "

He licked off more tears of her cheek and eyed her pleading face: "I can't resist that pleading face, it's gorgeous... I'll make you want to kiss me and then I'll do it... ", smiling he placed a hand between her legs, on top of the panties, "Beg!"

His hand was moving swiftly, touching her through the fabric of her slip, making all her senses go nuts. Bara tried to scream for help: "**NO! Please! Anybody... **HAAAA!** HELP!...**", she moaned half of the things she was saying, "**HEEEEEEAAaaahhh... HELP!!!** **AAAAAHHHH!**.... **Please...** haaahh... Please... haaaaa... ", she couldn't resist this very long if he continued like that.

"I want you to beg! **Beg I said!**", his touches became rougher, more intensive.

After a minute Bara couldn't take it anymore: "Please... end this torture... haannnn... I beg you... ", she cried agonizingly, pressing her eyelids together, "Do as you wish... kiss me... fuck me... whatever you want... I beg you... please... just stop torturing me...", her head hung loose down her shoulders, she was facing the ground.

The torture had stopped while she was still talking, it was a heavenly relief. Bara was at a point where she couldn't have cared less what happened to her. He had her where he wanted her. Bara's body was clouded by lust and hunger, it had taken over her mind and left her powerless to whatever was to happen...

* * *

Suddenly Bara felt fabric on her skin, somebody covered her body in cloth: "Sakura?", the voice was different.

"Huh?... ", the girl slowly straightened up her head, "Who?... ", she tried to see who was talking, but her sight was blurred. Whoever this boy was, or for what reason he was here, she didn't care. Bara was just endlessly grateful that he was there.

"Sakura, are you okay?... Why are you all alone here?", the boy undid the ties that held her feet, "Isn't Naruto somewhere?"

Bara now realized that the voice was emotionless, her mind was slowly returning to normal: "Who are you? Why do you call me Sakura?", her eyes met with her savior's. He stared right back. His eyes were endless blue, they looked so exhausted. His face showed no emotions, but Bara could see right through his mask. His eyes held such sadness, so much loneliness...

"I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else... The color of your hair... ", carefully he undid the ties that held her hands, "Are you able to walk?", he freed the girl from her position.

The sudden weight on Bara's powerless legs made her fall. Instinctively the boy caught her in her arms, he tried his best not to touch her skin. Bara looked up at him while he helped her to sit down: "Looks like I can't even stand... Sorry... ", he looked surprised, like it wasn't his intention to catch her fall. Bara analyzed his appearance. The boy looked like he was around her age, probably a bit older than her. He was partly topless since she was covered in his shirt, he looked so handsome. The girl couldn't help it, she blushed at his sight: "E-Excuse me, but what happened to... that...", Bara shed a few tears at the thought of what just had happened. She bit her lip and clasped a hand over her mouth, the other pressed his shirt to her body.

The boy watched her shivering frame emotionless: "I took care of him... He was distracted by you so he didn't even realize what was happening to him... ", he sat down in front of her, "He is dead now... "

"You saved me... Th-Thank you... ", she bowed her head in thankful respect.

He seemed to ignore her, looking around the area: "Are your clothes somewhere around here?"

Bara shook her head: "He... tore them to pieces... ", his eyes watched her, piercing through her soul, "I live in Uwasa, it's not far away... I could give you your shirt back as soon as I can change in my room... We just have to get to the inn... "

"You're the girl from the inn?", he seemed surprised.

"I color my hair to fit better into my family... Some of the components are worn off easily by water and since I was swimming in the lake... ", Bara blushed again, "I'm probably boring you, sorry... I'm keeping you away from your duty, or maybe even your sleep... "

"I don't sleep... ", the answer came quickly and surprisingly, "Never... "

"I.. I didn't know... ", she felt embarrassed and didn't know what to do. After they spent a while in awkward silence she raised her voice again: "Why did you help me?... "

His eyes widened in surprise, he looked a bit confused himself. His mind was absent, leaving the question unanswered.

Bara looked away, leaving him with his thoughts alone: "I'll be back in a second... Please wait... ", she stood up and quickly hid behind the tree, putting on his shirt. It smelled nice, somewhat like sand, '_He must be a Suna-nin... _', since she wasn't a tall girl his shirt hid all her privates. It felt comforting wearing his clothing. After she savored the comforting feeling for a moment she went back to him: "Uhm... What are you going to do know?... "

He came back to his senses and scanned the girls appearance for a while: "I'll head to Uwasa, my team is there and I'm sure they'll wake up soon. The sun will set in about an hour... "

"May I walk with you? I'm too afraid to go by myself and I want to give you back your shirt... Please?"

His answer was emotionless and plain: "Yes", but she was happy anyway.

Bara gave him a heart-warming smile: "Thank you... My name is Bara by the way... ", she reached out her hand to him, just the way she was used to introduce herself to people. He looked at her hand for a while before he turned away.

Sadly she retracted her hand, her smile fading: "Gaara... ", surprised she looked at him. His face turned, his eyes looking at her: "My name is Gaara... Now let's go... "

Bara smiled again, a slight blush on her cheeks: "Okay", she walked up to him and then they walked together to the village.

* * *

Twenty minutes long they walked in silence to the village. Gaara would sometimes take a look at his companion and Bara would just smile at him, '_I guess he's just not the talkative type..._ '

Finally they reached the inn, it looked empty but that was normal for that time of day. Most people in the village were still sleeping, just a few souls would be working at this time.

Bara entered the building: "Just follow me and try avoiding noise, I don't want to wake my family."

Gaara didn't answer, but followed her.

Inside she took some keys out of the secret compartment and unlocked the doors to the private rooms. After Gaara had entered she locked them again: "I'll let you out as soon as we're done, don't worry", she whispered and smiled. The boy just remained silent and followed her to wherever she went.

"This is my room, just wait outside for a second until I get dressed, okay?", Bara entered her room, leaving the boy outside and the door a crack open.

Now he stood there, waiting for her. Why did he agree on this? His eyes involuntarily moved to the crack that she had left open, his feet moving him closer to it, allowing him to see what she was doing.

He watched her taking off his shirt slowly, searching topless for something in her closet. To Gaara's surprise his cheeks slightly warmed up, '_Why am I doing this?_', he took a step to the side and stopped peeping. Leaning his back against the wall he waited there, thoughts racing through his mind.

After a short while the door opened again and Bara stepped outside in a red dress: "Gaara?", she couldn't see him at first, "There you are", she held his folded shirt in her hands, "Thank you again for everything... I could wash it for you..."

"No, thank you, I'll be just fine...", he reached for his clothing.

"I just want to make it up to you, somehow... ", she handed him the shirt.

As he took the shirt, their hands touched and something strange happened. Bara let go of the shirt and it fell to the ground, both their eyes widened in shock. They both felt that a small amount of energy between them had been exchanged and a voice inside their heads said, '_Cousin... _', it felt like a greeting, a very strange greeting.

Their touch remained, but the "greeting" didn't repeat. Bara was the first to retract her hand, almost inaudible she spoke: "Y-You... You are a host?... "

Gaara looked at her in disbelief: "Cousin?... Who... What are you?"...


	6. Secrets

White Rose

**Hooray, my first 100 Hits to this story ^^**

**thank you to all readers and a special shout out for the first person to favorite this story**

***drum roll***

**katarauchiha653719**

**Big thank you to you ^^**

**furthermore I wish you all fun, rate and review is highly welcome and keep me going**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_

Secrets

Adrenaline pumped through Bara's veins, filling her body with panic, '_How can this be?! What the hell just happened?!_', she panted for air, '_I have to do something! Teron said that nobody should know about my secret - EVER!_'.

Gaara himself had frozen, starring at her in disbelief until a voice inside his head woke up, _Oh, my... I must have been sleeping for centuries... _

- '_What's this voice inside my head?! What has she done to me?!_'

- _She didn't do anything, her powers are still developing. I was just waking up by the time I sensed her presence and when she touched you, I used some of her and my power to gain back my whole consciousness... _

- '_Shukaku?!_'

- _Yes, that's my name. But give me some time to adjust some things around here and I'll explain you, what you need to know..._, the voice disappeared again and Gaara came back to his senses.

Meanwhile Bara's nerves were wrecked since she could hear that her family was slowly waking up, getting ready for the daily duties. She had to do something, NOW! As the sound of unlocking doors reached her ear, she hung her heart, fetched his shirt from the ground, grabbed his hand and pulled him quickly into her room, closing the door behind her as quiet as possible.

Gaara seemed to have come back to his senses and stared blankly at her before raising his voice: "What have you done?", his face looked scary.

The girl panicked but still managed to keep her voice low: "I swear I haven't done anything, please be quiet and I'll tell you what I know."

"What have you done to me?!", his voice became slowly louder, his chakra concentrated in the small sand bottle that hung from his belt. He was ready to attack her.

Bara's heart felt like it was exploding every second now, rapidly she clasped her hands onto his lips, trying to mute him: "I beg you, be quiet... I'll explain everything...", her face was pleading hopelessly.

Her touch fueled his anger, he was about to release the sand and grab her, but nothing happened, _I won't let you do that... She is innocent... _

- '_Then I'll use my bare hands! I WANT ANSWERS, NOW!!_', he grabbed her and threw her to the ground of her room. The girl swallowed a cry of pain, she had to be careful not to attract her families attention. Slowly he walked up to her: "I want answers...", luckily his tone had calmed a little.

Bara's voice was filled with fear: "I'll tell you, I swear, just please be quiet. Somebody could hear us. I beg you... "

Gaara took a deep breath, _You want answers? I'll give you some..._. The boy was about to yell but stopped abruptly, instead his muscles tensed uncontrollably, his eyes widened in shock, his mouth moving slowly, he looked like he wanted to scream.

The girl had to act fast, surely she was afraid of what was happening to him, but she just had to keep her secret safe. She stood up quickly, grabbed him, threw him to the bed, sat on top of him and fixed his hands with hers. He didn't even notice what she had done with him. Bara looked at him in pure despair, his mouth was moving and scarcely audible sounds left his lips, slowly they became louder. "Please be quiet... Please... ", tears filled her eyes.

His condition didn't change at all, her tears trickled onto his face, she had to shut him up somehow, '_I must preserve my secret... I must preserve it..._', her heart dropped to her knees for what she did.

His lips were sealed and no sound escaped them anymore...

* * *

After a few minutes Gaara was in delirium, _This wasn't supposed to happen... _

- '_All this information..._'

- _Ah, yes, your mind couldn't cope with the load of it, but that's not actually what I meant. You should come back to your normal senses, to see what I mean... _.

The boy followed the advice that Shukaku had given him and opened his eyes. His sight was blurry and his eyes felt kind of wet, he wondered why. Something was tickling his cheeks and he felt some strange weight on him, his lips felt strange too.

A few seconds later he realized what was going on. Bara had pinned him to her bed, kissing him, '_What the... Why did she... Why is she... ?_'

- _Your body was moving uncontrollably and you almost screamed. She had to shut you up, for you would have attracted more attention than you both need..._

- '_I feel strange... _'

- _You've never been kissed, that could explain that sensation. But I have to admit, the girl has courage... _

- '_Why?_'

- _She didn't hesitate to sacrifice her first kiss to save her and your secret... _

- 'I_ don't understand..._ '

- _Oh dear,... I'll explain you later how human emotions usually work, especially girls emotions... Now you better try talking to her... _, the tailed beast left him again.

Bara slowly opened her eyes, the boy beneath her had become quiet, he stared into her eyes. Immediately her cheeks warmed up, coloring them in deep red. It felt strange, her heart wasn't pumping of fear, but of something else, she just couldn't put the finger on it. Slowly she detached her lips from his, watching him careful if he would scream: "A-Are you o-okay again?", he nodded so she tried to get off him. Unfortunately her muscles had become weak and Bara just fell off the bed, landing beside it on the ground.

"You kissed me?", his tone had finally become quiet.

Her cheeks flushed red, her body was shaking. She sat up, whispering in embarrassment: "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... ", she touched her burning lips, "There was no other way to quiet you down... "

Gaara sat up in the bed, eying the girls back: "Fine... "

"You said you wanted answers... ", she paused, taking a deep breath, "You can go on and ask your questions, I will answer... "

"There is no need for that anymore..."

Bara turned to face him, her face looked puzzled: "What happened?"

"The beast in me... It gained consciousness as our hands touched... It poured a load of information on me... "

"Was that why you acted so strange? I was worried about you... ", she blushed again, hearing her own words.

The boy remained normal: "Yes... My mind had an information overflow."

"And now?... What are you going to do now?"

"I think I should go to my team... ", he stood up from her bed.

Bara's thoughts were absent for a moment, but then she jumped up and grabbed one of his hands, holding it tightly. He watched her doing, he didn't mind anymore if she touched him, it felt natural, warm and somehow comforting: "Yes?", he asked.

"Whatever you know about me, please don't tell anybody... My life as it is might depend on that... ", her eyes stared right into his, pleading to him.

"I will not spill a word about what you are, that is a promise... "

Bara smiled, shedding a tear of joy, she couldn't help it. Automatically she hugged him tightly, thankful as she was: "Thank you Gaara, thank you... Heaven must have sent you... "

The boy looked surprised, but after a moment he hugged back, not knowing why, but he kind of enjoyed it: "I'd better get dressed now and go... "

The girl let him go: "How long are you staying here? I still have to make it up to you, that you saved me... ", she smiled shyly, "And for keeping my secret too... "

"We will leave this evening."

She smiled at him sweetly: "I'm going to cook you and your team something really tasty, be sure to bring hunger along", she was back to her normal self again, the optimistic, always smiling and happy Bara. "Now take this", she handed him his shirt, "Put it on and I'll accompany you to the foyer as soon as my family has gathered in the kitchen. I don't think they would like it if they knew I was alone with a boy in my room", she blushed and tidied up her room, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

A few minutes and some sneaking-performances later, Bara had brought her new friend to the foyer. Luckily her family hadn't seen or heard her: "I'll be taking a shower and change my clothes, so don't wonder if my hair will be white, okay?"

He just nodded and walked away towards his room. What nobody would know, Gaara ran his fingertips over his lips, trying to reconstruct the feeling he had, for he didn't understand it.

_You've never been treated like that, right?_

- '_What do you mean?_'

- _Like a human being... The way she would treat anybody else..._

- '_It's because she is no human_'

- _Do you REALLY believe that?... _, thoughtful he continued his walk to his siblings.

* * *

It was 7:45 a.m. and Bara was just done with her shower. Looking into the mirror, she felt pleased at the sight. Having her original hair color back was strange since she wasn't used to it anymore, but it felt right. A bright smile plastered her face while she got herself dressed. Bara chose some of her favorite clothes since she wanted to look nice. After she tied the apron around her waist she went to the kitchen, ready for work.

By the time she stepped through the door she noticed that her family had gathered in the kitchen, their faces were sad and concerned: "What happened?"

Their heads raised immediately, looking at the girl: "Bara?!", they looked at her in disbelief.

"Erm.. Yeah... That's me... ", she wondered what was going on.

Suddenly her mother embraced her, hugging her tightly: "You are safe! We were so worried about you!"

"Huh?", confused she tried to flee from her mother's hug.

Teron raised his voice: "When I woke up this morning I realized that some things had been stolen from my storage and the office. I went to my bedroom to see if you were wake and more things had been stolen, but you weren't in my bed and the window was opened. I thought that you had been kidnapped."

"We were so worried about you! When Teron told me I ran directly to your room but it looked untouched!", Mya hugged her daughter even tighter.

"I'm fine mum, I swear! Didn't anybody hear me shower? I just left it a few minutes ago", Bara finally managed to free herself from her mothers grip.

"We were all in the kitchen, trying to find a solution. The kitchen is too far away to hear the shower", Mya explained.

"I'm so sorry that I worried you all, I didn't mean to do that. I just went for a walk. I didn't want to wake up uncle and that's why I used the window", the girl looked apologetic.

Aya put a hand on the girl's shoulder: "As long as you are fine, that's the most important thing, sweety."

"Thanks, grandma", Bara hugged her grandmother, "Um... I actually came into the kitchen to start working... Could we just do that?", she smiled shyly.

Mya jumped up: "You want to work out of your own will?!", she rapidly checked if her daughter had fever, "Are you sick or something? I can't remember when you voluntarily worked in the inn the last time. And you didn't color your hair! Something must be wrong with you!'"

"I'm fine mum, I swear... ", the girl blushed and took a step away, "I just woke up and thought I could make myself useful... "

Mya looked suspiciously at her daughter: "You look cute today... "

"I look the same as every day... "

"You are wearing your favorite clothing... "

"I just fetched something out of the closet... ", her blush deepened.

Mya smirked: "Oh well, let's get to work", she turned away to prepare some food, '_I think she met someone... _', silently she giggled.

After the incident had been clarified, everybody went back to their usual activities. Before Teron went to his office Bara told him, that she wanted to talk to him later in the evening and he agreed on it. Meanwhile the first guests had settled in the restaurant, waiting for their breakfast.

* * *

Like every morning Bara would take the orders and deliver the food to the guests, whether they just came for the delicious food or they already had slept in one of the rooms upstairs. It was already 8:30 and the girl wondered where her new friend was. Currently she was serving a group of a girl and two boys.

"I'll have the cereal with fruit and a cup of coffee", a young kunoichi said.

"Ah, yes, cereal with fruit aaaand coffee for you. And what would the two gentlemen prefer?", Bara wrote down the order and looked smiling at the kunoichi's companions.

The two boys stopped staring at their waitress: "Erm.. Yeah... We'll have the same, please... ", they went back to starring.

Bara felt quite uncomfortable, but tried her best to ignore them: "Then I'm making three out of this. Anything else?"

"No, thank you... ", the kunoichi sounded angry, '_How dare she... I should be the one becoming all her attention... I am much prettier than she is... _'

The waitress walked away, taking more orders until she bumped into somebody: "Oh, excuse me, I haven't seen you there, are you okay?", after a second she recognized the boy and smiled happily, "Hey, I've been looking for you. Just choose a table for you and your friends and I'll be right with you", she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Who was that, Gaara?", a female voice asked.

"Wasn't that the waitress, Temari?", another boy appeared beside Gaara.

"I'll explain you soon, let's eat something first, is that fine? Kankuro, Temari?", the boy looked at his siblings.

The two shrugged but agreed on first having some breakfast. Together they took a table in a quiet corner of the dining room.

Bara came out of the kitchen with three bowls of cereal and three cups of coffee and served them to the group with the angry girl and the starring boys: "If you need anything else, I'll be right there to serve you."

'_I hate her! I don't know her and I hate her! I don't even want to know her... _', the kunoichi glared daggers at the white haired girl, '_I'll wipe that smile off your face right now... _', as Bara was about to leave, the girl made her trip and fall.

Bara fell ruggedly to the ground and hit her head quite hard on the floor: "Ouch... ", slowly she stood up again, "Oh dear, that was clumsy of me... I'm fine no worries... ", she walked away, removing some dust from her clothes, '_First Gaara throws me to the ground, then this jealous bitch makes me trip... Seems like the floor can't get enough of me today..._', at the thought of her savior she blushed slightly, '_I'll better go to him, before I meet the ground again._'

Embarrassed she arrived at the table where the Suna-nins sat: "I hope you didn't wait too long for me", she eyed the group, "So you are Gaara's team?"

Temari and Kankuro looked at Bara, their faces questioning her.

She blushed: "Did I say something wrong?"

Gaara raised his voice: "That girl made you trip..."

Bara: "Oh that... It's not the first time something like that happens. It's usually the females that make me trip and the males that can't keep their hands by themselves... ", the girl looked annoyed.

Gaara: "Like the one last night?", Bara blushed heavily as her savior said that, she bit her lip.

Temari: "Is that the reason you met?", she watched her youngest brother.

Kankuro: "You still haven't told us why you are carrying the small sand bottle and where you met this girl", he eyed Bara mistrustful.

Her face saddened: "I do have a name you know, it's Bara... "

Gaara: "Kankuro, hand me the bingo-book, please... ", his hand reached into his brother's direction.

Kankuro: "In front of her? I don't trust her... ", Temari kept quiet, watching her brothers and Bara.

Gaara: "I do, I believe that she can keep a secret like this... ", memories ran through Bara's mind and she blushed again, running her fingertips over her lips, " And now give me the bingo-book..."

Kankuro handed him the book and Gaara opened it, searching for a face. Bara looked at some of the faces until the pages stopped moving: "That's him right?... ", horrible memories came back to her mind.

Gaara: "Give me your pen please... ", she handed her savior the pen and he crossed out the face in the book, "I stored him with some of my sand outside of the village."

Temari: "So that's why you're carrying the small bottle. How did you get him all alone? And how did you find him?"

Gaara: "You remember that we saw him yesterday here? While you two were sleeping I traced him until I lost his track... That was after he left the village... "

Kankuro: "And how did you find him?", he eyed his brother.

Gaara: "Bara helped", the girl involuntarily tensed up, blushed and clasped her hand to her mouth, "The nuke-nin assaulted her. I heard her screaming for help and that's how I found him. He was so distracted by his victim, that he didn't sense me. I could take care of him easily", the boy gave the pen back.

Temari: "Fine for me."

Kankuro took the bingo-book back and shrugged: "Sorry, Bara. I didn't know you were involved."

Bara: "That's quite okay... I'm used to being treated worse by some customers... That's why I usually don't do the room service... ", the girl's eyes wandered to the floor.

Temari: "I always knew that your insensitive, Kankuro", she poked her brother, "If you continue like that you'll never get a girlfriend."

Kankuro: "Stop poking, Temari... ", he looked irritated, "And I do have female friends... "

Temari: "And my guess would be that you have exactly one, and that's your beloved big sis. Me!"

Kankuro: "Stop that will you?!", both of them started arguing.

Bara: "Do they do that often?"

Gaara: "Usually only when something is in the bush", he made a hand sign for her to come closer, "You shouldn't let others treat you that way", his voice was low, only the girl could hear him.

Bara: "I'm fine, really", she whispered before she went back to waitress mode, "Have you decided what you would like to have for breakfast?"

Gaara: "I'll leave that up to you."

Bara blushed slightly and smiled: "Erm... Would you two please give me a minute, so I can take your orders?"

Temari and Kankuro stopped their arguing for a second only to say: "Omeletts with Sarimi and the Wasabi-Avocados ", synchronous.

Bara: "Anything to drink?"

Gaara just ignored them: "I'll have a green tea and they'll have some herbal tea."

Bara: "Oh well... I'll be back as soon as everything is done", smiling she left again to join her mother in the kitchen.

Gaara: "Could you two stop that please?"

Kankuro: "As soon as your sister stops bugging me we can talk about that."

Temari: "Aw, come on, you're so fun to tease", she giggled.

Gaara: "Just stop. I would like to have an uneventful breakfast, thank you", Both stopped and waited now for their order.

* * *

Bara was in the kitchen preparing the food for her new friends, she was putting a lot of effort into it, especially Gaara's. Soon she had everything ready and went out to serve it, but she left her savior's plate in the kitchen since her hands were filled: "I'll bring the rest immediately", the boy just nodded.

The kunoichi that had made the waitress trip was boiling of jealousy, she hadn't missed the other boys looking at Bara, handsome boys. And she was still smiling! '_Maybe that fall wasn't enough for her. I should make this a little more... interesting... _', the jealous girl smirked and waited for the waitress.

As Bara came back with some food in her hand, the kunoichi made her trip again, this time it would be worse. All the food went flying into the air as well as the dishes and more was to come.

Some of the food and the dishes reached the ground before her. As Bara fell directly into shards, a cry of pain echoed through the room. Before the rest of the dishes fell on the girl, the kunoichi performed a tiny movement of hands, that worsened Bara's pain. The dishes broke in the air and the new shards bore into her back.

After Bara realized what had happened she slowly sat up, feeling every shard in her body. The pain was bearable, the embarrassment wasn't that bad either. For her, the worst was that the time, effort and sympathy she had invested into the food was in vain. Carefully she pulled a few shards out of her face and body while the room had become silent. As blood was pouring out of her wounds and tears were running down her face, the kunoichi started laughing lowly, she enjoyed the pitiful view.

"You should watch where you're going... ", her voice was filled with satisfaction.

"And YOU should watch, what you're doing... ", Gaara grabbed Bara, pulled her to her feet and removed the shards from her back...


	7. Wounds

White Rose

**Whoopee! Chapter 07 is finally done! I had to overwrite this part two times before I was happy with the result. More secrets are revealed but even more are to come *laughing evilly***

**Oh well...**

**A GIANT thank you to Animestar001 for the pretty long review and the adds to alert, fave and C2 (GEEZ!!) I really appreciate that! *hugs animestar* this chappy is for you!**

**(BTW: I wrote you a message, in case you haven't found it yet ^^)**

**Anyway I wish you all fun, rate and review is highly welcome and keep me going**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Wounds

"I don't know what you are talking about", the kunouichi turned to face her food, ignoring the bleeding girl and her companion.

"You do know that you are in Uwasa, a neutral village?", Gaara's face looked scary.

Bara tried to calm the situation: "I'm fine, I swear. I'll take care of these small wounds. Please don't fight."

The boy eyed the white haired girl: "You are not fine, I can see that. But I won't fight her... Most probably the others will, since she harmed you on purpose."

The kunoichi turned again to face the boy: "What are you talking about?"

Gaara: "You seem to be badly informed about this village. Let me explain: Whenever a shinobi harms a person on purpose inside the village's walls, he is free to be attacked. Since you harmed a civilian it makes your crime even worse."

Kunoichi: "**WHAT?!** I don't believe you! You just like that sweet looking bitch and that's why you want to repay me!"

Gaara: "I don't like her", Bara suddenly felt a sting inside of her heart, she wondered why.

Kunoichi: "You actually look like you'd like her a lot. Your words are not very convincing."

"Uhm.. He's actually right... ", one of the kunoichi's companions raised his voice, "You just signed your death contract."

Kunoichi: "Are you serious, Keru?! Why didn't you warm me?!"

Her other companion confirmed her mistake: "We both thought you would know, since you seem to know everything."

Kunoichi: "Aren't you going to help me?! Keru? Ryoga?"

Keru: "We'll pay your bill, while you run. We'll meet at checkpoint X sometime later."

Kunoichi: "**Are you two serious?!**"

Ryoga: "I would run if I were you, like now... "

The kunoichi was steaming of anger. She looked through the room only to find, that some of the other shinobi had pulled out their weapons. She gulped and then ran away as fast as she could. Some people left the inn, probably following her.

By the time the kunoichi had disappeared Mya came out of the kitchen to check on the loud noise, that had been coming from the dining room: "What happened here?"

Keru: "We apologize for our team member, usually she's not THAT awful. Though I do hope she only gets her butt beat up..."

Ryoga: "We'll pay for the broken dishes and the wasted food."

Bara: "Thank you... ", the girl gave them an exhausted smile, "Ugh... I don't feel well... ", her skin had become a bit pale.

Mya: "Oh no, Bara! You are bleeding!"

Bara: "It's nothing. I'll go to the medical office, can grandma jump in for me?"

Mya: "Of course, darling. Get to Teron fast, I don't like how you look."

Bara: "I'll hurry to- ", she hadn't finished her sentence as she lost her balance and almost fell to the ground again.

Gaara: "I'll bring you there... ", the boy had caught her fall.

Bara: "There's no need for that... I'm fine, I'm just a little bit dizzy... ", she blushed slightly.

Mya: "Please bring her to the medic and be careful."

Gaara nodded and picked the girl up in bridal-style: "Temari, Kankuro, I'll just come to our room as soon as possible", then he walked away.

On their way to the medic Bara tried to escape from the boy's grip: "I can walk myself."

"I don't believe that you can do that properly. You almost fell and you said you were dizzy... ", Gaara kept walking, ignoring her squirming.

"Let me down", she fought against his torso.

"No."

"Let go... ", her heart was beating all the way up to her head, her face deeply blushed, the protest stopped.

"As soon as I delivered you to the medic."

"Why... Why are you helping me?", they had entered the medical practice, "Am I your burden or something?... Because you could kill that guy last night?... Or is it because of... of your secret?", tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Why are you saying something like this?", he looked at the girl in his arms, his face emotionless as normal.

"Don't mind it... Teron's coming... Just forget what I've said... ", her head turned away, so he couldn't see her face, '_Was I really so naive? I thought that he would like me..._ '

Teron just came running: "What happened girl?! Where did you get these wounds from?"

The girl's eyes were fixed to the ground: "Somebody made me trip really bad, but I'm fine... I just need some bandages... "

"And why is this young man carrying you?", the medic eyed Gaara.

"I'm just a bit dizzy, but he didn't let me go. It's nothing serious, really... Just some bandages and I'll be fine... ", a lonely tear made it's way down Bara's cheek.

"Oh, well, I can take care of those wounds. And while I'm at it I'll check you over. Let's get you into a treatment room, I'll help you", Teron reached out his hand. Gaara put the girl down on her feet.

Bara leaned on to her granduncle: "Thank you for bringing me, Gaara... Sorry for wasting your time... ", she turned to face him, her eyes exhausted and sad, her smile weak, "We'll probably see each other later... ", Bara turned away and Teron took her to a distant room.

_You hurt her feelings... _, the voice inside Gaara's head growled lowly,

- '_I hurt her feelings?_',

- _Back in the inn, don't you remember? That happened just a few moments ago_,

- '_I don't know what you mean_',

- _You said you didn't like her_,

- '_I was saying the truth_',

- _That's not correct... Maybe you haven't realized yet, but you do like her. And by analyzing her behavior I do know, that she likes you... _,

- '_I didn't know..._',

- _But you felt something, right? You felt the need to help her... _, Gaara looked at his hands. Bara's blood had colored them crimson, his clothing was also stained.

He left the building to clean himself, thinking about the things that had happened and those Shukaku had told him.

* * *

Meanwhile inside of a dimly lit room a gray haired boy was analyzing some substances:"Interesting... ", he stood up, took some papers and left the room. A few minutes later he entered another room: "Orochimaru-sama!"

"What is it Kabuto?", the pale man asked the boy, he sounded bored. He was currently watching some of his subordinates sparring.

"You wanted me to do some research on the girl from the Uwasa-inn, right?"

"That is correct. Did you find something?", Orochimaru turned to face Kabuto.

"Indeed! I tailed her and was able to listen to a very interesting conversation, though I wasn't sure if it was correct what I had heard. I stole some things of interest and analyzed them, I surely was careful to make it look like it was a normal burglary. The result of my research will please you, I'm sure of that", the gray haired boy smirked.

"Oh, my... Let's go to another room and we'll talk there about the details... ", Orochimaru turned to leave.

"Of course... ", Kabuto followed his master.

A few minutes later both of them were in a different room, sitting on more or less comfortable chairs, a table between them.

"Now tell me what you found out, I sure am curious to know", the snaky man eyed Kabuto.

"The subject is Bara Aihara, thirteen years old, female", the gray haired man handed his master a few sheets of paper, "Current location, Uwasa. She seems to have Amnesia."

"The basic info is not very promising", Orochimaru's face looked bored again.

"There is more. I heard the conversation between her and the local medic, Teron Horowa. He said something about her being a halfgod."

"That IS interesting. What more could you find out?"

"I checked her background and found out that she didn't have a birth certificate, that made me quite curious. I stole probes of her blood and different data that Teron had collected from her. Then I went to the lab and made some tests myself. I knew that I had seen something like that somewhere before, so I went through older documents. What I found there was very pleasing. Do you remember experiment PH7-3?", more paper was handed to the pale man.

"You mean she could be a new subject to this matter?", Orochimaru read through the notes.

"The logs say, that the subject was lost a few years ago. I found some records of her death, but I actually believe that's wrong", Kabuto eyed his master carefully.

"What are you driving at?", Orochimaru's eyes held a glow of malice.

"We lost the other subject at the age of eleven and that was about two years ago. Bara Aihara is thirteen and has the same traits as the other girl had. I do believe that she is the subject of experiment PH7-3!", the gray haired man smirked.

"Well if that wouldn't be good news. What would your suggestion be?", the pale man stood up.

"I believe that we should observe her and make more tests before we put her into a cell. She won't run away, that I'm sure of", Kabuto stood up too.

Orochimaru grinned: "I think I will leave this matter to you. I'm sure you'll do a good job on this one", he left the room.

"I will Orochimaru-sama. I will...", Kabuto collected the reports again and left.

* * *

About an hour had passed since Teron had started to treat his grandniece, he was almost done: "There you go. You should be fine now. If you want you can go back to work now."

"Thank you uncle... I'll be on my way then... ", Bara gave Teron a sad smile and jumped from the examination table.

As the girl was about to leave the medic stopped her: "You sure you are fine? I've hardly ever seen you so sad."

The girl narrowed her gaze, her lips sealed. It took her a while to think about something: "That boy... "

"The one that brought you here?", Teron offered Bara a seat.

She declined his offer: "I think I like him. And I thought he liked me too and that we could be friends... But apparently he doesn't... "

"How do you know that?", Teron eyed his grandniece carefully.

"Back in the inn... When that girl made me trip... He told her that she had broken the laws... She didn't believe him and said, that he would only help me because he liked me... Then he said... He doesn't like me... ", she frowned, "I just don't know what to do... "

"Maybe you should just talk to him. I don't remember you giving up so soon... ", he patted her hair.

Bara smiled and blushed slightly, she really missed the patting on her head. Asuma usually did that when he visited her. Thankfully she hugged Teron: "Your right! First I'll talk to Gaara and later I'll write Asuma a new letter!", her facial expression had become soft and a warm smile covered her lips, "Tell him that I don't care what happens to me. I just want to see him, or at least I want my letters to be answered. I miss him really. Tell him that!", she kissed her granduncle on the cheek and ran away.

Teron rubbed his cheek, a smile on his face: "Heh... Didn't even wait for my answer... "

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and Gaara finally put on his clothes again. The cleaning had taken a while since it was blood and drying always took it's time. Kankuro had gone to do some shopping before they would go back to Sunagakure, Temari was packing her things. It was hot outside and he felt sleepy, _Sorry to interrupt this moment but it's no good idea to sleep_,

- '_I know Shukaku... Your dark chakra will take over as soon as I sleep... I'm used to insomnia..._ ',

- _I'm really sorry about that boy. The person who banned me inside you did a lousy job..._ ,

- '_I've learned to live with it... Why don't you go to sleep? Aren't you tired or something?..._ ',

- _I might do that some time later... My consciousness was comatose for a few hundred years, I just want to enjoy this as long as possible... _, Gaara starred through the window.

"Gaara?", a female voice called his name.

"Yes, Temari?", he turned to look at his older sister.

"Has Kankuro come back yet?", she looked through the rooms.

"No. I think he'll come later", he turned again to the window.

"Perfect!", Temari sat next to her brother.

Gaara looked back at her: "Huh?"

"I would like to talk to you about that girl, Bara", a slight smirk crept over her face.

_HA! She noticed too. You are quite oblivious aren't you?_,

- '_Stop that please... _', he clenched a fist, "Yes?"

"Nothing important. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am. Since you met Naruto you really changed a lot. You saved that girl from the nuke-nin and that wench in the inn too. I think she really appreciates that", a short giggle left Temari's lips, "And she got really red in the face near you. She must like you a lot. You should be friends, I believe that would do you good."

"I don't know... ", Gaara ran his hand through his hair, "I think she doesn't like me anymore... "

"Because you said you didn't like her?", she looked sympathetically at her brother, he nodded, "Why don't you try and talk to her? You'll never know if you don't try it at least."

"I don't know... ", he looked out of the window, his face emotionless.

Temari gave away a low sigh and lay a hand on his shoulder: "However you decide, don't forget that you can talk to me about anything, right?", she stood up to leave, "I'll go and look for Kankuro... Huh? What's this?"

"Something wrong?", Gaara stood up.

"Here's a note... And it's for you... ", she handed him the small piece of paper, "I'll be going now", smiling she left the room.

The boy watched his sister leave before he starred at the note in his hand, _What are you waiting for? It's no trap. Just a plain piece of paper. Read it!_, a few seconds later he unfolded it and began reading.

_Hey there Gaara,_

_I hope you're still in Uwasa by the time you read this. Erm... What you said... That you didn't like me... I'm fine with that, really. As long as it's the truth. I don't like liars, but I'm drifting off... I kind of still have to make it up to you, since you saved me... That's why I wanted to see you a last time before you leave... I'll be waiting for you on the playground. I'll be there until the night has fallen. I thought you'd be gone by that time, so it wouldn't make sense to wait longer. I hope to see you there..._

_Bara_

- _Humans like her are hard to find... You shouldn't waste that opportunity, you heard your sister_,

- '_I'm not sure... _',

- _There's nothing to fear, boy. Just go ahead and say goodbye to her. I'll give you the privacy you need, good night... _, Shukaku left Gaara alone. The boy stood there, starring at the note. It took him a few minutes before he left the room, the piece of paper in his hand.

* * *

The sun was slowly setting, the night coming closer. Gaara entered the playground, searching for Bara. The place looked quite empty, nobody was there, '_Am I too late? The night hasn't fallen yet so she must be around somewhere... _'

He walked around the area until he heard a female voice humming an unknown tune. The sound of it was almost magical. Gaara followed this voice, taking in every second of it. Soon he found the girl singing the wonderful tune. He could only see her back, but instantly he knew he had found her. The boy stood still for he didn't want to interrupt the song.

Bara was sitting on a swing, her eyes closed. A breath of wind caressed her skin and made some of her bangs move, it felt like heaven. As the song ended a loud sigh left her lips, '_I guess he's not coming after all... _', slowly she started to swing, gaining speed and hight at a fast rate. By the time Bara had reached the highest point she could, she jumped. She really liked doing that, it felt like flying.

Without any problems she was about to land on her feet, but to her surprise a small stone was in her way. "**UAH! NOT AGAIN!**", by the time she had landed she tripped. Immediately Bara closed her eyes and prepared for the impact.

Oddly enough she only bumped into something and strong arms held her frame, her feet not reaching the ground: "People could think it's your hobby to trip and fall... "

The girls eyes shot open, she recognized Gaara. Her face went into a deep blush: "People could think it's your hobby to save me... ", she averted her gaze, "You really came... "

"I read the note a few minutes ago... ", he pressed the girl to his body, like she wouldn't be safe without.

An awkward silence had spread between them until both of them raised their voices simultaneously: "I wanted to apologize... "

Bara's face lay in disbelief: "Huh?", the boy stared at her, her blush getting deeper by the second, "Erm... Maybe you could let me down, then we can talk?..."

Gaara put the girl in his arms carefully to her feet, their embrace ended and immediately he felt something missing: "That wasn't on purpose, sorry... "

"That's okay... I wanted to apologize for wasting your time. I was surely pretty annoying, since you don't like me... I should have known... I won't bug you anymore, that's a promise...", the blush in her face had gone.

"I must apologize for lying to you", his eyes were fixed to hers.

"Apology accepted... Now if you-", Bara was interrupted by a hand that clasped to her lips. She blushed again, her heart beating.

"I lied when I said I didn't like you, but I just realized it later. Forgive me for hurting your feelings... ", his hand left her lips, leaving a burning sensation.

The girl watched him in disbelief: "Y-You... You do like me?", as Gaara nodded, tears formed in her eyes, "I-I didn't annoy you?"

"No... It's actually nice having you around... ", tears ran down Bara's face, "Please don't cry... Have I hurt your feelings again?"

The girl couldn't hold it back anymore, she started laughing: "I'm just so happy... Those are tears of happiness, so don't worry... I'm fine... ", the boy looked at her, his face a bit surprised. After a while she calmed down: "I would be happy if we could be friends."

Gaara's facial expression changed to a satisfied look, he wasn't smiling or something, but it looked very satisfied: "Then let's be friends."

Bara hugged him tightly, laughing: "First promise I give you as a friend: I'll teach you how to laugh and smile!", she gave him a cute kiss on his cheek.

The boy returned the hug, enjoying the feeling of her body and the burning sensation on his cheek: "Of course... "

Suddenly she let go of him and pulled out a small parcel from her purse: "I know it's not much and it can't repay what you've done for me, but I organized you a little present... Took me quite a while... ", she handed him the item, "Don't open it until you are home, got it?"

"Thank you, I'll do that... ", he took and stored it in his pouch.

* * *

Soon the Suna-nins left Uwasa. Bara bid them all a good bye and invited them to come more often. Gaara and his new friend had exchanged addresses so they could write each other letters.

A few days later in Sunagakure, Gaara opened the gift he had received. Inside of the parcel was a single bud from a white rose and a note: "Don't forget me". Carefully he placed the bud into a glass filled with water, immediately the bud opened and a mild smell filled the room, '_My first promise to you is, that I won't forget you... Ever..._ '...


	8. Changes

White Rose

**Yaaaayyy 200 hits!!!**

**I'm really happy that people read my story, so a thank you to all that do ^^**

**As you might have noticed I do update quite fast, currently I'm out of work so that gives me a lot of time to do what I want hehe ^^**

**Anyway I wish you all fun, rate and review is highly welcome and keep me going**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Changes

A soft wind made it's way through the streets of Uwasa. It was noon and the sun was burning mercilessly. Bara was currently sitting on the roof of the inn, it was her favorite place. She stared into the direction of Sunagakure, the desert was easy to spot from the top of the inn.

About a year had passed since Gaara and Bara had become friends. They exchanged letters weekly and the girl had kept every single one of them. First they wrote about the daily things, but after a while more personal information was exchanged. Gaara had revealed his past and how he felt about his parents and siblings. Bara felt sad that he had been treated like a monster in his childhood and she understood how he came to be the person he was now. But she never condemned him for she knew that he had something like a soft side too. The girl blushed at the thought of him, she really liked him a lot.

Bara's life had changed a lot in this one year. Since her sister had fallen in love with a boy, the workload in the inn had become much less for her. Natsuki and her lover, Yuki, worked very efficiently together. Teron had hired a new apprentice a few months ago, Toya. Bara would let him take her blood and bandage her for practice, he was a slow learner. She didn't mind that since her wounds healed very fast and the pain was bearable. Teron took care that her secret would stay one.

A deep sigh left her lips. Bara's body and mind had changed too, just like Teron had predicted it. Almost every day she woke up, she would find new information in her head. It scared her a bit, but most of it was useful for her daily life since it explained her new powers. Sometimes it was really hard to hide her powers because she was so curious to test them or they would trigger from different emotions. Soon she found out that she had an affinity for three elements: Fire, Water and Air. But still she couldn't control it properly, so she focused on hiding it. If someone found out about that, they would probably want to use her as a weapon against others. Bara despised that idea.

'_OH NO!_', the girl suddenly jumped up, '_I forgot that I promised Toya to teach him today!_', quickly she ran into her room to grab some medical instruments she used for practice. She took a short stop in front of the mirror to fix her hair and clothes before she left. Bara had grown to become a beautiful young woman, but she herself hadn't noticed it at all. Usually she didn't mind how she looked.

As she wanted to leave the building through the kitchen she bumped into Natsuki and Yuki: "Would you please stop that!? Shouldn't you two be working?!", she blushed wildly and turned away from the kissing and cuddling couple.

"Don't be so sensitive Bara. When I was your age I had my first kiss. You'll have your own boyfriend in no time!", Natsuki left her boyfriend and poked her sister.

Bara's heart skipped a beat as she remembered her first kiss and the boy she had given it to: "I-I-I'll be going to give Toya some coaching in medical basics, see you later", she turned and walked away, her face red as a tomato.

Yuki: "Is he the boy you like?"

Bara: "**NO!!!**", her answer came faster than her thoughts went, "I-I mean... I like somebody else... **GAH!** I mean we're just friends! And you two should stop making out in public, that drives me totally crazy!", without another word she ran away.

Yuki: "Your little sister is really easy to bug... ", the boy walked to his girlfriend.

Natsuki giggled: "Only when it comes to the topic of love and it's physical aspect. She sure is innocent... And so cute when her face gets that red... I love bugging her, just like mom does... "

"As long as you don't have any issues with me doing some physical love to you, I'm absolutely fine with that", Yuki neared the girl of his heart to kiss her.

Their lips crushed against each other for a brief moment: "I'm not that innocent as she is... ", a grin crept over Natsuki's face.

* * *

Breathing heavily Bara had reached Teron's practice, her face still held the deep blush, '_**OH BARA!!!**__ Other ideas! You need other ideas before you start to think of the wrong things!_'

"There you are! I thought you wouldn't come anymore", the girl jumped up involuntarily and shrieked as she noticed the gray haired boy, "Sorry, I didn't want to scare you. Has your sister been bugging you again?"

The girl calmed down quickly: "Erm... You can say that... Sorry Toya, I almost forgot about you. Is Teron somewhere?"

"He went to look after a patient that couldn't leave home. I don't know when he'll be back. How about we just start training?", he smiled and adjusted the position of his glasses, "I bet this time I'll do a perfect job with the syringe."

"I'm not convinced until you show me!", Bara giggled. Smiling they went into a room and started the lesson.

About an hour later they had finished the practice. Teron had returned a while ago and had taught them some new things too.

"You did a great job Toya. I think you won't need my help anymore. I'll be going know, I need to get something from the jeweler before he closes shop. See you two some time later", smiling she left her granduncle and his apprentice.

"I'll take care of the bandages we used and the blood I extracted", Toya stood up and was about to collect the things as his teacher stopped him.

"You can leave that to me, why don't you take the day off? You've worked really hard today", Teron grabbed the vials that held the girl's blood.

"You're talking gramps. You're the one who works day and night. Let me at least take care of some things here", the boy reached his hand out to take the probes.

Teron eyed his apprentice suspiciously: "You can take the bandages and store them away, I'll dispose of these. And don't call me gramps, I'm still fit", then he left the room and hid the blood as usual in his secret compartment. The medic had become very cautious with his things a few weeks ago. Different probes and notes had disappeared and reappeared within short time. The only things that had remained untouched were all the things in his secret compartment.

"Hey, Teron?", Toya had found him, "I took care of the bandages. Is there anything else to do?"

"You were quite fast... Just take the day off and meet your friends or something, there's no more work for today", the old man pushed his apprentice into the direction of the exit, "You should have some fun too, you're too young to waste your time working nonstop."

Toya gave away a short laugh: "You're probably right. I'll go and have some fun. See you later old gramps!", he left.

Teron grumbled: "I'm not that old... "

* * *

Meanwhile Bara had reached the jeweler: "Hello? Am I too late?"

"You're just in time girl", a tall and brawny man welcomed her.

"The crystals are really done?", a big smile plastered her face, "I thought they might take longer to produce."

"Since you wanted a plain circular form it wasn't that difficult to make them. But I still wonder what purpose a crystal like this could have, the materials were quite extravagant", he put a small parcel on to his table.

"They just look nice. Sometimes they change colors and I thought I'd really like to have one since I've seen somebody wear it", that was just half of the truth, but Bara didn't lie.

"I don't think I'll do something like this again. You're the first customer ever that wanted something different to my usual assortment. Here you have the recipe back and since you've already paid everything you can just take them", the man put a folded paper on top of the parcel.

"Thank you very much", smiling she took the items and left, "Bye!"

The girl ran home, the smile never left her lips, '_Now I only have to figure out how to make these sensitive to a person's chakra_', quickly she passed through the kitchen, doing her best to ignore her sister making out with her boyfriend. Luckily this time she wasn't stopped by Natsuki, but she couldn't help it and blushed again.

A few minutes later Bara had locked herself up in her room, excited she opened the small parcel. Two black crystal pendants were inside. Carefully she took one of them and held it into the sunlight, as the rays of light touched the material it became transparent like glass. Then she took the other pendant and did the same with it, '_He did a really good job, both of them are clear... _', she smiled. After she put both pendants back into the parcel she closed her eyes and tried to recall some information from her mind.

Bara's mind had developed to something like a library, it looked like a big cathedral, old and noble. The girl stood in the middle of it, seven giant wooden doors surrounded her. Three of them stood open so far, once she tried to open one of the others, but nothing happened. By the time she had found this place in her mind she had started to label the doors. The first held the label "Memories" and the room behind it was the biggest she had seen so far, but most of the bookshelves were empty. She had figured out very fast that every day a new book would appear, holding the function of a dairy. Some of the books there looked burned and had a locket, those were probably memories of her childhood for she didn't have access to them.

The second door she labeled was "History", the books there told her a lot about historical events as well as items and their production. Most of it was information lost to the world now. The third door held the label "Ninja basics". The books there helped her to control most of her power until now, but she hardly ever entered that room. It was more curiosity or panic that drew her through that door. The girl walked to the history part of her mind, the bookshelves were at least thirty feet high, but on the other hand everything in the cathedral was, except for her.

"Sylcium", immediately some books came flying to her. Bara picked one of the books and lay a hand on to it. Within seconds she searched through the information that the book held. As she was done, the book opened at the page she was looking for, pictures materialized in front of her. The girl took her time to read through the lines and watch the moving pictures for in reality only a few seconds would pass.

Bara opened her eyes again and took one of the pendants, '_I hope I'll manage to do that... _', carefully she tried to push her chakra into the crystalline material, but it didn't work, '_Gah!... I should have known that this will take me all night... _', she continued to push her chakra into the pendant...

* * *

The night had fallen a few hours ago, most of the village was sleeping. A strange noise reached the ear of Teron, ripping him out of his dream. Slowly the old man left his bed, trying to focus where the noise had come from. While he left the room he realized that the noise had come from his office, '_Well, well... If I haven't found the mysterious thief that steals things and brings them back..._', he walked to the office, a candle in his hand.

"I finally got you, you strange, little thief!", Teron lighted the body of a young man, it didn't take him long to recognized his apprentice, "Toya?! What are you doing with my secret compartment?! Is that Bara's blood there?!"

The boy turned to face the old man: "Now you caught me... "

"So you were a fake all the time?", Teron spat his words, "You're after the girl, right? I'll tell her that she can't trust you! She'll flee and you won't find her again!", rapidly he turned away and ran.

"I'm sorry old man, but I can't let that happen... ", the gray haired boy quickly pulled out a few Kunais and threw them...

* * *

At the same time Bara was in her room, packing some of her things. She had finally achieved what she wanted and was almost ready to leave. One last time she read the letter that Temari had sent her.

_Hi there Bara,_

_As soon as you're here I'll hide you in my place until it's Gaara's birthday. I'm pretty sure he'll be quite surprised as soon as he sees you. I've sent you a note with the directions to Suna, if there are no sandstorms the journey should take you less than two days. I've marked you some safe spots just in case. I've asked Kankuro if he was fine with you staying for a few days and he seemed okay with that. I can't wait to see you, it's been quite a while. Eight months, I think. Oh, yeah, don't forget to show the pass I've sent you to the guards as soon as you reach the gates! They won't let you in if you don't. Afterwards you can wait at the local inn, I'll come after you as soon as possible._

_Happy to see you soon, Temari_

Smiling she folded the letter and stored it in her backpack. Temari had warmed up to Bara the day she found out that Gaara and her had become friends. They had exchanged letters too, but they included the more girlish topics. Bara wrote a lot of letters since Asuma had answered her old letters and their contact had gone back to normal.

Suddenly she remembered her fourteenth birthday. All the people she liked had been in Uwasa to visit her. Asuma had been on a mission with his team and the sand siblings were just done with one when they visited her. None of them had stayed longer than a few hours, but it still had been fun. Bara finally had been introduced to Shikamaru, Choji and Ino, Asumas team. Soon she had figured that Shikamaru and Temari had a thing for one another, even if they didn't look like it. Kankuro and Asuma had been talking about different techniques. Bara had made a cake and Choji had eaten the half of it while Ino bugged him. Luckily she had hidden a piece of it since Gaara had disappeared somewhere. Sometime later she had found him at the buildings entrance to the kitchen...

* * *

-_Flashback_-

"Why don't you come in? You're missing all the fun and I've got something for you", she gave him a warm smile.

"It's quite crowded in there... And I feel out of place... ", he seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"You don't like it crowded?... Hhmmm... ", the girl thought about a solution, "I surely won't let my best friend stay here with the garbage!", she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, "Come."

Quickly she fetched the piece of cake she had hidden and pulled Gaara through the inn until they had reached the roof: "This is much better than the backyard of the inn, don't you think?", she smiled happily.

"Aren't you afraid of falling?", he looked around, but there was no railing.

"Hm... Actually no. Especially when you're around. I'm pretty sure you'd save me", Bara gave away an awkward laugh while her cheeks warmed up, "Erm... Cake?", she handed him the dish.

Thankfully he took it, sat down and started eating, she sat next to him: "This tastes really good... "

"Thank you, but I'm sorry to tell you that Choji ate whatever was left of it. I guess he liked it too... ", she stared at the horizon and the slowly setting sun. After a while in silence she leaned her head against his shoulder, she felt exhausted from working: "Are you going to visit me again soon?"

"I don't think so... ", he finished the cake and put the dish away, "Soon I'll become Kazekage... I won't be able to leave Sunagakure so I won't be able to see you... I will protect the citizens of Suna... "

Bara bit her lip: "Can I come and visit you maybe?"

"You can do that, but I don't know if I'll have time for you... I'll be busy... ", he eyed the girl next to him.

She raised her head and looked into his eyes: "I just want to see you sometime. I like being around you... ", she blushed as she realized how near their faces were. Suddenly Gaara shifted his weight and pulled something out of his pouch. If she hadn't gone away from his shoulder they most probably would have kissed. Her head was red as a tomato and her heart was beating up to her head.

"I almost forgot this... ", he handed her a small parcel with a white ribbon around it.

"This looks like the one I gave you that day", her blush decreased a bit, "What's this for?"

"I thought it might make you happy to receive a birthday present... ", he watched her reaction.

"I've never got one since we're out of money most of the time and I told everybody to not give me anything... ", she looked at him, "Didn't I write you to not give me anything?"

"You did... ", he was calm.

"Oh, dear... I still have to make so much up to you and you give me a present... ", she looked at the parcel, her face red.

"You don't have to make anything up to me. We're friends, right?... ", he seemed emotionless as normal.

"But I want to make it up to you... If I don't, I'll feel bad and sorry... And besides I can't let my best friend save my life without returning the favor... somehow at least... ", her eyes pleaded to him, "Whatever you want and I can give you, you can have it! That's a lifetime promise!"

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise: "Hm... You do know, that's a lot what you are promising me... "

"It's the only way I can make it up to you... ", her face blushed deeply.

"And if somebody else saves you? Are you going to promise that person the same?", his eyes roamed cautiously over her face, trying to read her.

Bara remembered that she hadn't said anything similar to Asuma who had saved her life too: "I... ", she thought about some things before she answered, "No... This one is just for you, because you're my dearest and closest friend... You know all my secrets... You I trust... You wouldn't betray or take advantage of me, that I'm sure of...", her face lay in determination.

"Hm... ", his face looked kind of amused although he wasn't smiling, "You sure are somebody... If I accept your promise, will you stop talking about making it up to me?"

"Absolutely!", she smiled.

"Fine... First thing, open your gift... ", he pointed at the parcel.

"Yes!", she slowly pulled the ribbon open, she was nervous for she didn't know what was inside. As she saw what he had given her, she blushed again: "It's beautiful... Was that your idea?", she smiled.

"I thought you might like it, since it fits your name... ", he watched her taking it out of the box.

"This reminds me of the bud I gave you... I really like it... ", she looked at the white hair clip that had a small rose on it. It was plain and simple, but Bara just loved it.

"You should wear it if you like it... ", he watched the sun setting.

"Is that an order?", she laughed.

Gaara turned to face her again: "Yes. Wear it every day... "

Blushing she took some of her upper hair and clipped it at the back of her head together: "L-Like this?", he just nodded and went back to watching the dusk, "A-Anything else I can do for you?"

"For now, nothing... Maybe I'll come back to your offer some time later... ", he slowly stood up, "We'll leave soon... "

Bara jumped up and stopped him: "Hey, you can't go before I've said properly thank you for the gift!"

"Then go ahead... What are you waiting for?", he wondered what she was up to.

Blushing she looked at him: "I'm not waiting for anything... ", then she grabbed his hand, pulled him closer and gave him a rather long kiss on his cheek, "Thank you... "

Surprised he looked at her...

-_Flashback_-

* * *

Since Bara remembered, her friend never had a lot of emotions. He was mostly unable to show them if he had some, but she would never mind. She was one of the few people that knew his softer side and was able to understand him. Usually he wasn't even the talkative type, but when they were alone, they talked quite a lot. Carefully she caressed the clip in her hair and blushed. Bara had kept her promise and wore the clip every single day. Her feelings went to more than mere friendship towards Gaara, but she was too oblivious to recognize it.

Sighing she left a note on the pillow for her family. None of them knew that she was going to leave, that was much safer for her. Bara just hoped that they wouldn't worry to much about her, but she had to leave. She had to go and see her friends, especially Gaara. Just like Temari had written, it's been too long since they had seen each other. One last time she passed through the empty kitchen before she began her journey to Suna...


	9. Desert

White Rose

**I present you chapter numero 9**

**I would really like to know what you think about this one, since there is a funny little twist in the story**

**Muhahahaha ^^**

**Anyway I wish you all fun, rate and review is highly welcome and keep me going**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Desert

Bara took a deep breath to calm herself. She was standing near to the exit of Uwasa, hiding behind some bushes. Nobody seemed to be around, but she still wanted to double and triple check everything since she hardly ever left the village. The last time she had left Uwasa alone she had almost been raped. Luckily Gaara had saved her that night but there was no guarantee that she would be safe this time, '_Just stay away from water and use the safe spots that Temari marked you on the map then everything should be just fine... Oh dear... I'm so nervous..._ '

After a few minutes she was ready to leave and sneaked through the gates of the village. Facing the forest she climbed up a tree and jumped from branch to branch. Asuma's lessons payed off greatly that night. The travel through the forest up to the desert was the shortest and most probably easiest part of her trip. It took her a few hours to jump through the trees and luckily enough nothing had happened on the way. She didn't even need a break for some natural needs, '_So far this is better than I thought it would be... _'

As she reached the sand she stopped to check on her map. The sun had risen already and the lack of sleep was slowly getting the best of her, '_At least there's a safe spot not too far away from here..._ ', she yawned copiously and took a mouthful of water. Bara took one last look at the horizon to check for sandstorms before she continued her way to Sunagakure. The walk through the sand was very different to the things she knew. With every step she would sink into the hot ground, almost burning the skin on her feet. She was wearing black sandals that went up below her knee, just like most people did, '_There must be some trick to this... Just like walking on water... Asuma mentioned something like this once... _'

It took her about two more hours to reach the small cave on her map. On her way there she had tried continuously to push chakra into her feet to not sink in to the sand, but she still hadn't figured the hang of it. '_Maybe I'll have more luck after my rest in this place. Anyway I'll have enough time and sand to practice..._ ', an awkward laugh went through her head. Exhausted she discarded her backpack and watched the horizon.

A soft wind was caressing her figure, but she knew that it wouldn't stay this soft. Far away she spotted clouds of sand and dust, in about an hour they would have reached her. Sighing she entered the cave and ate a few things before rolling up on a blanket. The smell of burning sun on sand seemed somewhat familiar. Slowly it engulfed her, leading her to a restful sleep.

* * *

_It was night but the full moon lighted an area around a little girl. There she was, standing in front of a playground, looking at the emptiness in front of her. Her hair was white and reached to her shoulders. The upper part of her hair was clipped together, but still there were some bangs left in her face. A single red braid was hanging down her shoulder and reached her upper body. She wore a cute, white dress that complemented her tanned skin. _

_Barefoot she stood there in the sand, staring at the empty playground, the way she had done so many times. Empty playgrounds were the only ones she knew. No children running around, no laughter, no joy, no friends..._

_Lonely she sat onto a swing and stared into the moon. How long would it be until she had to leave this place again? She didn't know. A sad smile formed on her lips and a lonely tear ran down her cheek. Would she stay alone forever? Maybe she would... Maybe it wasn't meant for her to have friends and be happy... Maybe it was her destiny to be alone... Forever..._

_Suddenly she was ripped out of her thoughts by some noise. Somebody else was there and it surely wasn't her mother. The little girl's face reddened and her heart went to overload. She had never ever seen somebody else than her mother. What was she to do now? Her mother had told her to run away and hide whenever she would detect another person, good idea!_

_The small girl jumped up from the swing and was ready to run as she recognized the noise she was hearing. This person was crying... agonizingly... It felt like her heart was ripped apart, it felt just like she felt inside whenever she looked at a playground. She couldn't just leave this poor person alone could she?... She didn't want somebody else to feel her pain for it was unbearable. Maybe she could help this person... Just this one time... And maybe she wouldn't be alone anymore, if she did..._

_Slowly the fragile figure turned to the sound and neared it cautiously. It was a child, about her age. The girl stopped behind a nearby object. She wondered why a child, beside of her, would be on a playground at this time of the night, all alone. It seemed to be a boy from what she could tell. His agonizing cries pierced right through her small heart. She just couldn't leave him like that... _

_The little girl gathered what she had left of courage and walked to the boy, a warm smile on her face to comfort him: "Uhm... hello there... " …_

* * *

Bara opened her eyes, '_What a strange dream... Was that my childhood?... _', lazily she took a glance at the entrance of her encampment. The sandstorm had ceased and the sun was slowly setting. Curiosity got the best of her, she closed her eyes and entered the library in her mind. There she passed the doors to her memories: "Empty playground", a load of books came flying to her. Some of them were quite new and she knew what memories were written down there, but most of them were locked and burned. She must have been on lots of empty playgrounds in her childhood, she could feel sadness welling up in her. One book caught her attention, it's locket was broken. Bara searched through the book, but most of it's pages were burned unreadable. The only pages nearly untouched were the ones that contained the information she had dreamed about. Nothing more and nothing less. With an undecided smile she left her library. Somehow she was happy to know something about her past, but on the other hand it seemed to be a sad one.

Suddenly she shook her head, '_Past is past, so I can't change it! I've got a long journey in front of me before I can see my friends. I have to use the present to achieve a bright future! Now move Bara, your wishes won't come true when you just keep sitting around and do nothing!_', she jumped up from her position. Unfortunately she hit her head by doing so, since the cave was not very high. "**OUCH!**", she fell back to her previous position, '_Okay... Maybe next time you try to be more careful... _'

A meal later the girl had packed up her things and left the cave. Traveling at night was much safer since the chance for a sandstorm was practically zero. Bara had changed her clothing to something warmer, the nights in the desert were known to be cold. Again she started to practice pushing chakra into her feet to make her journey easier and it only took her about three hours to get the hang of it. Slowly she was understanding how to control this power. Since she didn't sink into the sand anymore she could walk much further than before.

In the end it took her three more days to reach Suna. On her way there were quite a number of sandstorms, but she had had enough to drink and to eat. Bara's journey was about to become a full success, there were just a few steps that separated her from the village hidden in the sand. Currently she was standing in front of the gates, it was early noon.

"Name?", a male guard asked the young woman in front of him.

"Bara Aihara", her cheeks held a slight blush and her lips a bright smile. Anticipation was getting the best of her.

"Age and residence?", he took notes on a piece of paper.

"Fourteen, Uwasa", she watched the guard doing his job.

His facial expression had changed to something more unreadable: "Reason for being here?"

"I'm here to visit some friends of mine", she discarded all her luggage and searched through it, "I actually have a pass, should be here somewhere... ", after a short while she had found the document and handed it over.

The man read carefully through the piece of paper, before folding it: "You will have to wait here until I checked some things. Don't leave this area... ", he walked away, out of her sight.

"Erm... Sure... ", she said that more to herself than to him, '_I wonder if everything is fine..._ '

Bara let out a deep sigh and sat down next to the village's walls, leaning onto them. She watched the gates for a while, but nobody was entering or leaving Sunagakure, it was plain boring. Then she moved on to looking at the horizon, but there was nothing to see. '_Waiting here is really boring... _', again she glanced at the entrance to Suna, but she was disappointed.

To make her waiting shorten she started to think of different events in her live. Pictures of her past flashed in front of her eyes and she smiled. Most of the things that came to her mind contained the same person, Gaara. A blush crept to her face. She hadn't seen him for so long, it seemed like eternity to her. She wondered how he would look now. Surely she knew that her appearance had changed, although she herself never saw a difference. But what changes had he been gone through? She blushed a deeper shade of red. Now he would be most probably a young and handsome man, '_And he's Kazekage too, so don't forget to pay some respect to that... Though I don't know how... I hope I won't screw up... '_, helplessly she sighed. Burrying her face into her knees she almost didn't notice the person standing next to her.

"Bara? Is that you?", the female voice was filled with disbelief.

Bara raised her head and looked at the figure: "Hey Temari, didn't you say you'd pick me up at the inn?"

"You're really alive and you're here!", the kunouichi watched the girl like she were a ghost.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The journey went well", Bara stood up, "Are we going to your place now?"

"How long have you been on your way?", Temari neared the white haired girl.

"Four and a half days in total, I left at night. There were some sandstorms and I really was happy to have the safe spots. Is something wrong?", the girl's face lay in riddles.

"You weren't in Uwasa when it happened... ", Temari's face looked relieved.

"IT? What happened?", now she looked concerned.

"Listen Bara. There has been an attack on Uwasa about three days ago, but nobody noticed anything until the inn and the medical practice were burning", the kunoichi was readying herself for an emotional outbreak of the girl.

Bara had frozen, her eyes widened in shock: "Wh.. What are you saying Temari? Please don't play such a bad joke on me... ", tears brimmed in her eyes, "You're playing a really bad joke on me, right?"

Temari's face staid stern: "I'm sorry Bara. It's no joke... The medical office and the inn were burned down and you're family was most probably in it. They haven't found corpses yet, but that's probably because they were burned to ashes. They gave away a list with seven missing persons and you were on it. We thought you were dead... I'm sorry... "

The white haired girl couldn't believe her ears, it just couldn't be true, '_Nobody would attack Uwasa!... Six missing persons... Teron, Toya, Aya, Mya, Natsuki and Yuki... All dead?! Impossible... IMPOSSIBLE! __**IMPOSSIBLE!!!**_'

Temari had expected the girl to break down and cry, but something different happened. Yes, Bara did cry, it looked like two waterfalls splashing down her eyes. But she didn't break down at all, on the contrary, her face looked determined: "I don't believe it. They are alive! And I will find them!"

Without any warning Bara ran away in direction of Uwasa. Mindless she had left everything she might have needed in front of the village walls. She was running like there was nothing else to satisfy her agony. Crying she ran.

Temari was caught off guard and took a few seconds to chase after the girl. She had said something, but Bara was too far away to hear it. She didn't even want to hear it, she just wanted to go and save her family, '_There is still a chance... I can save them, I know it... _', her tears drenched her face.

Temari tried to catch the running figure, but it was no use, she was left behind by Bara, '_How can she run that fast?!_'

* * *

About fifteen minutes had already passed and Bara could hardly move anymore, she had to stop and take a break. About five minutes ago she had lost her pursuers, nobody was near her. Breathing heavily and crying she walked forward to Uwasa. She walked slowly, because most of her energy was consumed, but she walked. And her mind was set to not stop until she reached her home.

Sweating she walked over the burning ground until she was stopped by a wall of sand: "**NO! Don't stop me!**", quickly the sand trapped her inside a quite small space. Immediately she could feel her movement backwards, Gaara was dragging her back to Suna.

The girl had recovered some energy and was now fighting against the sand that was surrounding her. Punches and kicks came flying but nothing really happened, she didn't even get a scratch. "**Let me out Gaara! I have to go back!**", but no respond came, he was probably not near and couldn't hear her yet. Determination gleamed in her eyes, she had to get back, at any cost. Her cage was becoming slower, she had to do something fast, before Gaara would come near her. She closed her eyes and concentrated, her breathing became calm. Pictures of her family flashed in front of her face and hope gleamed inside of her.

Then she punched as hard as she could against the wall of sand in front of her, fire coming out of her fist. Eyes closed she had freed herself from the cage and fell on the other side to the ground. This use of power was more instinct than anything else, but she didn't wait to wonder about it, she stood up.

Since that scene had happened right in front of Gaara's eyes, he had watched it with surprise on his face. He hadn't expected her to break free from his cage and now she was walking away again. She was really determined to go back. This wouldn't work if he just tried to capture her, it would only take a lot of time to get her. He needed a different strategy if he wanted to stop her fast because a sandstorm was coming to them.

He ran up to her, grabbed one of her arms and pulled her back: "I can't let you go there... ", she almost fell for his strength was high.

"I have to go! They could be still alive!", she tried to free herself from his grip, but she didn't want to hurt him.

Gaara noticed that and took her other arm: "If they killed you're family, they were after you... "

"I don't care! **And they are not dead!!!**", his grip was too tight on her, she couldn't free herself without hurting him. "Let me go!", she bit her lip and tried to kick him, but she couldn't hung her heart to put force into it.

The boy blocked the kick easily: "Listen to me Bara... "

"No!", she put as much force as possible into her escape so she managed to free one of her hands.

He grabbed her arm again and then pinned her to the ground, so she couldn't escape anymore: "Listen to me... You have to calm down... "

The girl squirmed underneath his body, her face red as a tomato for she realized in which position she was: "Let me go!", she closed her eyes and tried to focus until something unexpected happened.

Bara's eyes shot open, his' were staring back into her' s. Gaara had crushed his lips against hers, he was kissing her! The girl's thoughts went crazy, she couldn't focus on anything anymore. Everything went out of her head until she could only feel his lips on her' s and his body above her. Her senses went crazy, her face blushing wildly, her heart beating as loud as never and her breathing intensified. Something in her wished that this would never stop, somehow she couldn't do anything else than enjoy this. Slowly she closed her eyes again, taking in the feeling of his touch.

The boy noticed that the girl under him had become calm, slowly he detached his lips from her' s. Her eyes opened, her look dizzy: "You kissed me... "

His face looked somehow amused, though it didn't show any reactions. Memories came back to his mind: "There was no other way to quiet you down... "

Bara scoffed and turned her head to the side: "Fine... ", her eyes held a soft gloss. She knew very well that this situation had existed lastly in her room and that made her blush again: "I'm sorry... "

The boy watched her surprised. He hadn't expected that she would recollect her mind that fast, after all she had lost everything important in her life.

"I ran away mindlessly, without thinking about what would happen next... I even forgot all the possessions I have left now... I'm really sorry... It's just because... Usually I'm not like that... ", she looked at him again, tears in her eyes, "I most probably would have died out here in the desert... But you saved me... again... You really do that often... "

"I can't let somebody like you die out here... You're too precious... ", her eyes widened in surprise and her heart skipped a beat, "You're the daughter of a god... ", at this words her heart ached.

She turned to the side: "Please get off me... ", her words were bitter. Was she nothing more to him than that?

Carefully Gaara got off her and helped her up: "We should go now... A sandstorm is coming into our direction... "

"But I don't have anywhere to go now... My family is dead... My home is burned... I don't know where to go... ", tears ran down her face.

"I don't know who exactly is after you, but I'll take care that they won't get you... You'll stay in Suna, with me protecting you and the village... ", he summoned his sand and surrounded himself and the girl with it.

Bara stared at the ground, her heart screaming of pain: "So my new home will be Suna... "...


	10. A new home

White Rose

**Wohoo chapter 10**

**I actually wanted to put this chapter up yesterday but my net was extremely crappy all of a sudden so uploading was impossible... grrr...**

**Oh, well... can't change the past anyway...**

**By the way: I know you people are reading this story, it's moving up to 300 hits – I can see your clicks – big sister is watching you muhahaha...**

**So if you are reading please review. If you don't tell me your opinion I'll never know if you like it or not, so don't forget people: reviews improve a story, thank you**

**Next point: Big thank you to invisible-gurl for the third fave to this story, hooray**

**Lastly I wish you all fun with this piece of my phantasy  
**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_A new home

There she was now, sitting on a chair in Temari's kitchen, a cup of steaming tea in front of her. Gaara had brought her and her possessions to his sister until he had time to decide on what would happen to her. Bara looked at the brown liquid in front of her, her tears had ceased a while ago.

"You should really drink it, you'll feel better if you do... ", Temari sat down on the opposite chair, her face deeply concerned.

The white haired girl nodded and took a sip from the liquid in front of her: "I think that I can finally accept it... I know that I can't go back anymore... There's nothing left of my old life... "

"I'm really sorry Bara, but on the other side I'm glad that you are fine... You should be thankful that you still have your life... ", the blond girl took a sip of her tea too, "I can hardly believe that Gaara went himself to stop you. You two must be real good friends... "

Bara scoffed: "I feel more like I am his burden... I don't think he stopped me because he likes me... It's what I am that saved my life... "

"What you are? What do you mean by that?", the kunoichi put down her cup and eyed her friend closely.

"I'm not a normal human... My granduncle told me once that my blood was very different to everybody else... It's more than a Kekkei Genkai, it's different... ", Bara's face looked dreadful, "My family died because of that... It's because somebody wants to use me and what I am... Everybody I know could be in danger because of me... I didn't want this... I never asked for power... All I wanted was a normal life... A home... Friends... "

The blond kunoichi remained silent for a while before she raised her voice again: "I understand what you mean... And you think that's the reason why Gaara came personally to stop you?", Temari couldn't help herself, she felt that something bugged the girl in front of her.

Bara couldn't deny it anymore, almost all her thoughts circled around the boy that had saved her so many times. Who was she kidding? Her feelings for him entangled her mind from bottom to top: "He used to be the only one who knew about this... I think that's why... I just hoped for more... ", a lonely tear ran down her cheek, "It's really hard to read him, but... I always thought he would like me... I though we were friends... I... I even hoped... I hoped we could be more... "

The blond kunoichi had stood up and embraced the shaking frame of the white haired girl in front of her. Carefully she listened to every word the crying girl had to say: "Your really like him, do you?"

"Temari... I... I think I love him... Don't tell him, please... I don't want him to know... not yet... ", she buried her face in her hands.

"Listen Bara. I won't tell him, I promise. But please believe me when I say this: He does like you. I can't tell how much, but I do know that he cares for you. You're surely more than just a burden for him, you're his friend, I know that... ", she hugged the girl in her arms dearly.

The white haired girl raised her head to face her friend and hiccuped: "Are you really sure?", as Temari nodded she returned the hug thankfully.

Both of them spent the afternoon talking about different things. Bara had told how she was found by Asuma and how her life began from that day. How she had grown to love her new family and that she missed them really badly. Luckily the white haired girl had calmed down again so she was able to cope with her situation now. Temari had also revealed more of her past, how she felt about her parents and her brothers. Both of them could understand each other, they felt happy. It was like a heavy stone was taken from their shoulders.

It was evening when Gaara knocked at Temari's door. Silent he entered her apartment and walked up to Bara. The white haired girl stood up and bowed her head in respect: "Good evening Kazekage... ", a slight blush on her face.

His eyebrows narrowed in annoyance: "Please don't call me that again. We're friends, call me by my name like you do normally... "

Bara's blush deepened a bit and she turned her head to the side: "Then a good evening Gaara... "

"Are you feeling better now?", he searched her face for an answer.

Her eyes met with her feet: "I accepted the facts and I am okay now. I've cried my tears for my family. I'm ready for a new beginning now... "

'_I wonder if something is wrong with her, she seems distant... _',

- _She lost everything, don't you think that would affect a human?... I'm actually surprised that she managed to cope with her situation that fast..._ ,

- '_It's not only that... I can sense something different..._ ',

- _Then my guess would be that she still feels kind of knocked out because of your impulsive reaction back in the desert. Can't you see that she is avoiding to look directly at you? You know that I was surprised as well when you kissed her. And the look on her face when you did it was surely something to remember... _,

- '_Why should that affect her?_',

- _Well, you know... Maybe because usually only loving couples do something like that? I've explained you more than once things like that... You sure are slow-witted when it comes to emotions... _, Gaara ignored Shukaku and tried to analyze the girl in front of him.

Temari interrupted his thoughts: "What decision have you made on what will happen with Bara?"

"I thought about it quite long before I could make up a decision. I hope that you will be okay with it, it's for your own safety... ", he took her luggage.

The blond kunoichi watched her brother: "Bara told me what she is... What did the elders say about that? Will she be locked away now?"

Gaara turned to his sister: "I actually promised Bara that I wouldn't tell anybody about her secret, I kept it. The elders don't know anything about her and I intent on keeping it that way", a genuine smile crept over said girl's face. Temari had been right, he really liked her. At least to the point where he would keep her secret.

The white haired girl lay a hand on his upper arm: "Thank you Gaara... But what's going to happen to me now? Where am I going to live and how am I going to pay for it?"

"I want you to be seen as less as possible by other people. You will live at my place, it's near my office. And for now you won't have to pay for anything. We'll talk about the details as soon as we are at my apartment", he looked at the girl next to him, his voice calm.

Bara blushed as their eyes met, quickly she took a step away and averted her gaze: "A-Are you serious?... ", it took her a while to finally realize what he was saying, '_Oh my god, __**Bara!**__ The guy you love tells you that you're going to have to live with him, though he has nothing more than friendship for you?!?! Only couples live together!!! This is going to be bad, really bad... Do something about it, __**fast!**_'

"So it's decided. Come Bara, I'll show you my place", while Bara's thoughts had raced through her mind Gaara and Temari had talked.

"Huh?!", before she knew what was happening she was pushed out the entrance to Temari's apartment.

The blond kunoichi hugged the girl before her brother and her friend would leave: "I'll come visit you, so you won't feel too lonely, okay? And then we can talk some more."

It had been to late for the white haired girl to protest. She returned the hug and nodded, a small smile on her face: "That would be nice... Bye... "

Temari bid them good bye and closed the door. Afterwards Gaara slowly walked away, Bara staring at his back. She wanted to be with him, but at what cost? If he didn't return her feelings, she would only get her heart broken, but there was still a chance...

Either way she didn't have a big choice. Firstly she couldn't disobey the Kazekage. Secondly she didn't have another place to go anyway since Temari seemed to have agreed on his decision.

"Are you waiting for something?", the boy had stopped his tracks and looked at his companion.

She averted her gaze again, blushing a deep red: "Sorry... I was just thinking of some things... ", she walked up to him, "Let's go... "

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they had arrived at Gaara's apartment. Since he didn't wanted to be seen he had flown them there. Bara had stared at him during their fly, but whenever he would turn to her she would avert her gaze. She couldn't look into his eyes anymore for she was afraid to spill all her feelings on him.

The boy unlocked the door to his apartment and pushed her inside, he locked the door behind him. Then both of them took off their shoes, he was the first to say something: "I want you to keep this door locked at all times. Keep the keys with you wherever you go", he gave her the keys.

"And how are you going to enter?", she looked at the item in her hands.

"Mostly I enter through the window, don't bother that. This apartment is for the most shinobi too high to jump up the balcony, so you should be quite safe", he walked through his residence pointing at different places, the girl following him. "There's the kitchen. You're free to use it as much as you want... The bathroom. You can't lock the doors but I won't come in unless you say it's okay... There's my private office, please don't enter it unless I say otherwise... The living room... ", then he stopped in front of a door and opened it, "You are free to use my bed, since I don't sleep in it. I'll make you some room in the closet these days, but I guess there's no hurry for that since you don't have much clothing with you."

Shyly she entered his bedroom. It looked quite empty and untouched, but his whole apartment did somehow. No photos, no pictures, no plants, no animals, more or less nothing.

"For breakfast there are some fruits and bread in the kitchen, you'll pretty sure find them. Usually I eat lunch and dinner at Temari's so the refrigerator is empty. I'll let somebody bring you what you need, just leave me a list on the living room table... Feel free to use the bathroom now, fetch yourself a towel from the closet. I'll be in the office... ", he turned away and was about to leave as Bara grabbed his wrist, "Yes?... "

Her eyes were glued to the ground: "Erm... Gaara... Am I not allowed to leave this place?"

"For now I have to keep you in here, yes. You can go out some time later, I'll tell you then... Anything else?", he was calm as always and somehow it started to freak her out.

"Could I maybe borrow a shirt of yours? For sleeping?... ", oh how she longed for an emotional reaction of him.

He turned and entered his bedroom to open a closet. Swiftly he pulled out a black t-shirt and walked up to her: "This should do the job... ", then he handed her the item and left, her eyes following his every step.

Bara caressed the fabric of his shirt in her hands, it looked just like the one she had worn on that faithful night. But that would have been a mere coincidence if he had given her exactly that one. With a smile on her face she fetched a towel, took her backpack and went into the bathroom, the door closed behind her. She really needed a shower to wash away the dirt and the awful thoughts she had.

By the time the water was hot she entered the shower, liquid pouring over her skin. It felt incredibly good. It felt like all her sorrow was drowned away. The sweat and tears on her body were washed away just like her loneliness. It felt like... home...

Bara closed her eyes and enjoyed this solemn feeling, pictures building up in her head. She could see her family. Yuki had finally brought up the courage to propose to Natsuki and now they were married. Both would take care of the inn, Aya and Mya helping them. Toya had learned everything he needed to know and wasn't Teron's apprentice anymore, but his partner.

And she?... She couldn't find herself in that perfect picture. She'd never belong there... Her place was somewhere else... Strong arms wrapped around her frame, holding her tightly. Calm breath caressed her neck's skin. A soft kiss planted on her longing lips... His presence... So intoxicating... She couldn't resist him... She wanted to fulfill all his wishes, his dreams... She wanted to be the one making him happy... The only one to bring a smile to his face... She loved him... And she wanted him to love her too... That's where she felt, that she would belong... In his arms...

Slightly dizzy Bara opened her eyes again, her cheeks heated from her thoughts. Fingertips caressing over her lips, like they just had been kissed... It felt so good... But it had been just her imagination. Maybe her wish would come true one day. If she had the courage to tell him, the answer might be positive... But either way he loved her or not, she wanted to be there for him, forever...

After a while she left the shower, a towel wrapped around her body. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was damp from the water, her skin wet, a blush on her face. Lazily she took her hairbrush out of her backpack and started to brush her hair. Bara went into her bathroom routine while she thought about what she would do now...

About ten minutes later she had dried herself and put on Gaara's black shirt. It was quite short, it nearly didn't cover up her thighs. Luckily she had a pair of red shorts she could wear to hide her privates better. Again she looked at the girl in the mirror. Her face looked determined since she had taken a decision. However Gaara would feel about her, she wanted to be by his side. Either as his friend or his lover. She wanted to protect him and for that reason she wanted to become strong. And she would tell him! She would tell him how she felt for him! Best would be now! Why should she wait anyway?

Bara left the bathroom and walked to his office, peeking through the crack he had left open. As she saw his face, her determination melted away like a snowball in hell. She was just too shy. This was the first time she looked at his features since they met again. He had grown. His lips looked so soft and she knew pretty well how they felt. Again she drove her fingertips over her lips, trying to reconstruct the feeling she had had. His face had changed to a more mature form, making her heart race. And his eyes... She lost herself in them. She could dive into them and never come back.

'_**Dammit Bara! Get yourself together!**__ You can't just keep staring at him... Can you?... _', she watched him again, '_I mean... There's nothing wrong with looking at him is it?... He's got such an intoxicating effect on me... __**Dammit, just tell him already!**_'

"I know you're in front of my office. Open the door and tell me how I can help you... ", he stopped looking at his papers and moved his eyes towards the door.

Bara's heart stopped for a moment, she was startled by his sudden comment. Slowly she pushed the door open: "Uhm... It's just... I... ", her heart pumped at maximum speed, her face reddened, "I wanted to tell you, that I... I... ", she swallowed her words as their eyes met. She couldn't tell him, she was too shy and too afraid to be rejected. A deep sigh left her lips: "I wanted to ask you, if you wanted something special to eat tomorrow, so I can adapt the list of groceries... "

Gaara eyed the light clothed girl in front of him: "I eat almost everything. Don't mind me... Are you going to sleep now?"

Her eyes met again with the floor: "I think so... It was a long day... Some rest would do me good I guess... "

"Then I wish you a good night... You can leave the door open by the way... ", he looked at her as if he was waiting for her to go.

"Sure... Good night... ", she gave him a sad smile and left to write the list and to go to sleep.

'_I wonder why she suddenly changed the topic... I'm sure she didn't want to talk about groceries.._.',

Shukaku snorted and scoffed, _I know what's with her... _,

- '_And that would be?_',

- _If you still haven't understood yet, you won't understand her if I tell you... Find it out for yourself... And be nice to her. She's your guest not your prisoner..._,

- '_Spill the beans Shukaku... _',

- _Like you were in the position to give me orders... _,

- '_Say it already... _',

- _Oh fine... I'll give you a hint or two... One, she's always blushing when you're around her. Two, you still have the need inside of you to help her and have her around, right? Well guess what... _,

- '_What?_',

- _Imagine her having the same need, might that explain her behavior?_,

- '_Hm..._ ',

- _Ugh... I'll leave you alone with your thoughts, maybe that will help... Good night.._.', Shukaku left him again, annoyance in his voice.

Gaara had always wondered why he felt the need to protect this girl or why he felt kind of nice in her presence. So if he found out what this feeling was, he would know why she'd behave so strange. A sigh left his lips. His father had made him nearly emotionless during his childhood. How was he to find out things, nobody could teach him?...


	11. Girl talk

White Rose

**Phew... I'm doing quite much with this project right now**

**So here you go with chapter 11**

**300 Hits cheers**

**Not much to say about this chapter, besides of: have fun and I'll be working on the next one right now ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Girl talk

"_Uhm... hello there... ", the little girl slowly walked towards the crying boy._

_The boy jumped up frightened as he heard the voice._

"_Sorry, I didn't mean to-**Ouch**... ", the girl fell face forward to the ground. "Sorry, I'm a bit clumsy... I didn't mean to scare you... ", slowly she stood up and rid her white dress from sand._

_The boy stared at her, tears in his eyes._

"_I heard you crying... You want me to stay with you for a while, maybe?", she gave him a genuine smile._

_His facial expression changed to disbelief._

_As he didn't show any reaction she turned her head away sadly: "You want to be alone, huh?... I'll go if you want to, but please don't cry anymore... ", slowly she turned and was about to walk away._

"_W-Wait... ", his voice seemed weak from crying._

_She turned back to him with a questioning face._

"_A-Aren't you afraid?", he clenched his fists._

"_Why should I be afraid of a boy as cute as you?", she smiled and took a step closer to him._

_He watched her in disbelief while she came closer to him._

_She pulled out a silky white handkerchief from her small purse: "Here. Please don't cry... You make me all sad... ", she offered him the hankie._

_He looked at the item and started crying again._

_The girl could feel the piercing pain in her heart, she had to comfort him somehow: "Please don't cry... ", she let the fabric drop to the ground and hugged him dearly, "You'll make me cry too... "_

_Instinctively the boy returned the hug and somehow it felt nice for both of them._

_Sniffing she tried to calm herself: "Please stop... I promise I'll become your friend if you do... Let's be friends... ", she gave him a kiss on his left cheek._

_The boy slowly stopped crying, his face looked surprised._

"_Did I scare you now? I'm sorry!", she really tried to make it better, but he didn't move anymore._

_Suddenly she was ripped away from him, her feet loosing ground: "Mom?!", she didn't turn around to look at her._

"_I'm sorry honey, but we have to go... ", a female voice answered the little girl._

"_But I couldn't say good bye to my friend!", the child tried to free herself from her mother's grip, but it was no use. The girl's eyes were glued to the dark figure that was becoming smaller by the second. She hadn't even seen him properly, nor did she know his name... She had lost her first and maybe only friend ever..._

* * *

Bara opened her eyes, bright rays of sun lighted the room she was in. Immediately she jumped up and out of her bed, her heart racing as crazy. Where the heck was she?! The memories of last night struck her like a lightning a few seconds later. She was in Gaara's apartment. She leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm herself, '_**GODS!**__ I almost scared myself to death..._ ', then she blushed. HIS apartment! And for the time being, hers too.

Lonely she left his bedroom and went into the kitchen to eat something. Gaara wasn't near but just like he had said, there wasn't much to eat there. Hungry she grabbed herself an apple and started eating it while she opened all the cupboards in the kitchen. She had to memorize the positions of all things in there if she wanted to cook properly in his kitchen. It took her a few minutes and a second apple to get the hang of his kitchen.

Afterwards she went back into the bedroom and tidied up the bed she had slept in. And now? What could she do now? Maybe change clothes? She couldn't wear his shirt all of the time, even though she liked having the feeling of his clothing on her skin. She went to her backpack and searched through her clothing but there was just one thing left to wear. She just couldn't take that one, she had brought it with her for his birthday...

The conclusion was that she took all her dirty things into the bathroom and began washing them. About an hour later she was on the balcony, hanging her clothing out to dry. She hid her underwear underneath her casual clothing so she wouldn't die of embarrassment if somebody saw them. A sigh left her lips. Again she didn't have anything to do. Gaara didn't have a TV to watch, nor had he books to read.

'_**Books!**_', the saving idea came to her mind. She did have a library in her head, so why don't use it? At least that would be better than dying of boredom. She walked into the living room and laid herself comfortable on the couch. Closing her eyes and concentrating she entered her library. As she found herself in the cathedral again she noticed that something was different: A new door had opened. Curious she walked into the room and analyzed it. The bookshelves didn't display a large number of books, but she knew they would fill up with time. Large fireplaces were stationed everywhere in the room, she couldn't remember seeing something similar in the other rooms. Until now every room was somehow unique and that might have explained everything.

Bara shrugged it off and pulled a book out of it's shelf, skipping through the contents. The book was filled with ninja techniques! Advanced ones using the fire element. She put the book back and grabbed herself another one. The second book displayed different techniques, but they were still advanced and used the fire element. Every book she read through held similar information. Bara scoffed and left the room to label the door "Fire".

Now she had two rooms full of techniques to fight other people. She didn't want to become a weapon, but how was she going to survive if she couldn't defend herself? Gaara surely couldn't save her every time, probably he wouldn't have the time to do so. "He is Kazekage and his first priority is protecting Sunagakure", she mumbled to herself. Somehow she felt like the books in her library were signs for her, that she had to learn at least something from them. Maybe she would enter the rooms that held the information about the ninja techniques one day, but for now she walked to the history section.

* * *

It was about noon when Bara heard the front door unlocking, she had been reading a quite thick book and wasn't done with it yet. She was able to read really fast in her mind, but nonetheless she had to read everything to gain the information she wanted to have. Lazily she stood up from the couch and went to see who was coming.

"Bara? Could you help me with the groceries please?", a female voice rang through the corridor.

"Temari? That you?", the white haired girl walked up to her friend.

"Did you expect somebody else?", the blonde smirked.

Bara blushed immediately, she knew who Temari was talking about: "I didn't expect anybody... I'll take these... ", she took some bags and brought them into the kitchen, the kunoichi following her.

"So? Are you okay so far?", Temari unpacked the groceries.

Bara put everything to it's proper place: "I think so... I just feel a little troubled when he's around... "

"You mean things like getting nervous and all red in the face?", the blonde smirked again.

The white haired girl blushed and gave her friend a mischievous glare: "Are you trying to bug me? At the moment you're reminding me of Mya and Natsuki... "

Temari giggled: "They were actually right when they said it would be fun to bug you like this... But aren't you sad mentioning them?", her facial expression had changed to concern.

Bara shook her head: "You know... Even if I hated it when they did that... Somehow I miss it... "

The blonde grinned brightly: "Well, if you miss it, I can help you!"

"Huh?!", confused the white haired girl looked at her friend, "What do you mean?"

"I could tell you what couples do, or even better, I'll let you know what Gaara could do with you", an evil smirk was plastered on Temari's face.

Bara had taken a step backwards, her face a deep red: "H-Hey... W-Wait... He's not going to do anything with me anyway... I-I don't even know if he knows what couples do... "

"Oh, you know... I think he'll find out as soon as he'll kiss your soft lips. Nobody needs instructions for love when they feel it", she took a step closer to the blushing girl.

Pictures flashed in front of Bara's eyes while she took another step backwards: "I-I don't think he feels th-that way... "

"I don't know, you don't know. You'll never find out what desires he has if you don't ask him. Maybe he would really like to crush his lips on to yours, share his first kiss with you!", another step was taken closer to the girl with the face red as a tomato.

Bara's back bumped into a wall, she was trapped. Slowly she ran her fingertips over her lips, her eyes looking into nowhere: "Uhm... I-I don't think... We... ", she stumbled over her own words. Her heart was racing as she thought of the kisses she had shared with him.

Temari eyed the girl's changing expression: "Wait... ", curiously she watched how Bara's fingertips ran over her lips, "Wait, wait, wait... What are you doing with your lips there?... "

The white haired girl jumped up and retracted her hand immediately from her lips: "N-Nothing!", oh how she wished she hadn't thought of their kisses.

Temari felt like a stone had crashed on her head: "**You guys kissed?!**"

'_Oh shit... _', the white haired girl raised her hands to defend herself, "That wasn't because we loved each other, it was more a means to an end! I swear!"

Suddenly the blonde squealed joyfully: "**I cant believe it! You guys really kissed!!! Your lips have been deflowered!!! You kissed!!!**", a pair of arms wrapped around the blushing girl.

"Temari please stop... You're making me all embarrassed... And it wasn't a big deal at all, really... ", Bara tried to breathe between the hugs, she had never expected Temari to be so girlish.

"What the heck are you saying?! Something like that sure is a big deal! His lips, your lips, pressed to one another!", she tried to pronounce the next words as slowly as possible, "You – have – kissed!"

"Who kissed who?", a stern voice resounded from the kitchen's entrance.

Bara froze and wished that she could disappear in a puff of smoke, she had recognized the voice.

Temari let go of her friend: "We're just doing some girl talk, Gaara. Nothing that should concern you", she went back to the groceries.

The boy walked up to the white haired girl: "Are YOU going to tell me what's up?"

Unfortunately Bara had petrified a few seconds ago, she was unable to move and she could swear she was about to faint if he came any closer to her. Face reddened she managed to make her mouth move: "I-It's really nothing important, just like Temari said, girl stuff... ", she faked a smile, "Y-You hungry?"

He averted his gaze from the girl and left the kitchen slowly, his steps seemed slightly grumpy: "Yes, I am. I do hope lunch will be done soon", inside his head an amused laughter was heard, '_Why are you laughing Shukaku?_',

- _Haha... That sure has more than one reason, Gaara_,

- '_Would you be so kindly as to tell them to me?_',

- _Her face – HAHA – When you entered the kitchen, she froze completely. Her face was so hilarious!_

- '_You mean Bara?_',

- _Yeah... But the better part of it was you! – HAHAHA .. _,

- '_Me?! What exactly is so funny about me?_',

- _I told you, that you are slow-witted when it comes to other peoples emotions... But I never thought that you're dull-witted when it comes to your own emotions – HAHAHA – The show is getting better by the second!_,

- '_I wish for explanations!_',

- _HAHAHA – Maybe next time you little green eyed monster... _,

- '_Then shut the fuck up!_', as Gaara hissed, the voice in his head was gone.

Shukaku was starting to annoy him since it hardly let him alone lately. He just wanted some room to breathe inside of his head, not always the voice of the demon, telling him absurd things.

Meanwhile in the kitchen. Bara's knees had lost their power and now she was sitting on the floor. Her face was steaming and her heart nearly breaking out of her ribcage.

Temari knelt next to her and whispered: "Now I see what you meant by him troubling you... Sorry to bring you in such a situation, that wasn't on purpose... "

"I know... It's okay... ", the white haired girl whispered and smiled.

Temari giggled silently: "Was I seeing things or did Gaara look slightly fretful?... Oh whatever... I want you to tell me the details as soon as we're alone, okay?"

Bara blushed again: "Why?!", she had a hard time keeping her voice low.

"We're friends, that's why I want to know", the kunoichi gave away a genuine smile and stood up, "Now let's make some lunch", she reached out her hand to help her friend up.

The white haired girl smiled thankfully and took her hand: "Anything you would prefer to eat?", her voice went back to a normal volume.

Temari just grinned.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Gaara and Temari were sitting together at the table in the living room, waiting for their food. The blonde was staring at her brother that was sitting opposite from her, a slight smirk on her face.

Gaara had folded his arms in front of his chest staring at the table: "Why are you staring, Temari?"

"No special reason", she smiled.

Bara left the kitchen, delivering four dishes at a time. Working at the inn for so long sure had it's advantages. She placed the food on the table and went into the kitchen to get the rest of it. By the time she had brought everything, she sat next to Temari: "I hope you'll like it", she smiled. Then she took her chopsticks and ate. She was really hungry since the only thing she had had were two apples.

Temari did more or less the same and ate: "This is really good!"

Only Gaara had stared at his food for a while.

"Aren't you hungry?", the white haired girl had put down her chopsticks and looked at him blushing. She had given it her all to make the food tasty. She just hoped that the love and effort she had put into it wouldn't be wasted this time.

"I was just absent for a moment", he began eating.

Bara held her breath, waiting for his approval: "Y-You like it?"

Without hesitation he answered: "Yes", his voice calm as always, "It's tasty."

The white haired girl smiled while blushing, she was very happy. But again she felt her stomach protesting because of the little food she had eaten. Quickly she had taken the chopsticks and ate.

The lunch went on silently until every one of them was done.

Gaara had left with the words: "I'll be back in the evening."

Now it was just her and Temari again, cleaning up the dishes.

"Now that he's gone you can give me the dirty details", the blonde grinned devilishly. There she went again...

Face reddened and all embarrassed the white haired girl had finally spilled the beans after Temari had bugged her for about an hour. Bugging her like that was Bara's weak spot. She would spill everything to the blonde if she bugged her long enough.

"Not very romantic... ", Temari sighed in defeat.

"I told you it wasn't a big deal... And now I can't change it anymore anyway... ", the white haired girl took a sip of tea, trying to rid herself from her blush.

"Oh well... Maybe you could do a better one in a few days?", the blonde grinned.

"What's in a few days?", Bara's face looked puzzled.

"You know, January nineteenth... ", Temari drank her coffee.

The white haired girl blushed: "His birthday... ", she had almost forgotten it.

"You could kiss him as a gift", a giggle resounded from the blonde, "Or you could even confess... "

"I don't know if he would appreciate that... He's so unreadable... Sometimes I have the feeling that his heart is frozen... I am surely not going to force him to anything... And actually, I do have already a gift... ", Bara's heart was beating heavily.

Temari sighed: "However you decide, I'll be going now. I've got some paperwork to do", she drank the rest of her coffee and went to the apartment's exit.

The white haired girl followed her: "Are you going to come visit me soon?"

"I think we won't see each other until Gaara's birthday. Kankuro will come too since he should be back from his mission a day or two earlier", the blonde smiled, "I hope you won't get crazy, locked up in here."

"I think I'll be just fine... Maybe Gaara will let me go out some time... ", Bara smiled shyly and blushed.

"I guess you'll get to know that soon enough", Temari smiled and turned to leave, "Bara... If there is someone in this world, that can melt the ice in his heart... It's you... ", then she walked away, leaving her friend speechless.

By the time the blond kunoichi was out of sight, Bara closed and locked the door, '_I wonder if she meant what she said..._ '

* * *

The sun was setting as Gaara landed on his balcony. The clothing that was hung out to dry wasn't there anymore, but he ignored it. Whenever he entered his apartment he was silent while doing so. He liked it when his surroundings were peaceful. Unhurried he walked through his apartment until he saw Bara laying on the couch, '_Is she sleeping?'_, no answer came. Nothing but tranquility.

Slowly he walked up to her and took in her features. She had grown from the girl he had known once. Her physics had matured, but that was all he could say. He wasn't able to name it any different than that. Maybe if he removed the bangs that were hiding her face. Carefully he moved his fingers up to her forehead and pushed a strand of hair a tiny bit to the side.

Bara felt the moving hair since it was tickling her. Immediately she jumped up from her position, opening her eyes. Gaara had retracted his hand, but his fingertips had touched her forehead and for a few seconds a picture had flashed in front of his eyes. The girl turned to look at her besieger: "Thank gods it's you... I really was scared for a second... ", then she blushed.

"Sorry... Have you been sleeping?", he kneaded the fingers that had touched her.

"Erm... Not really... I was reading a book of mine, but it's not that easy to explain... ", she stood up and walked to the kitchen, her heart beating, "S-Something to eat? It's about time for dinner..."

"Yes... ", he waited until she was out of sight and then looked at his hand. The picture he had seen seemed familiar, he just couldn't put a finger on it. He would have to ask her about the book thing. He walked into the kitchen, watching her preparing the food: "Bara?"

The girl was currently cutting some vegetables when he called her name: "**Ouch!**... Oh, clumsy me... ", she put the knife down and licked her index finger.

"Did I scare you?", he walked up to her.

Her cheeks heated again: "N-No! I'm just not used to your things... T-That's all... ", her heart took up the pace. Why did he have to have that effect on her?!

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom", Gaara grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the bathroom.

'_Oh gods... _', she let her feet follow his force although her mouth was protesting: "I'm fine. No serious damage taken, really... "

As they arrived in the bathroom he pulled out a small first aid kit from a drawer and handed it to her: "Now you know where it is", he left the bathroom, waiting outside.

The girl patched up her finger and put the kit back to it's place: "Thank you... "

"Explain me what exactly where you doing on the couch... ", his hands were folded in front of his chest.

"I-I'll explain you while I'll make dinner, o-okay?", she walked into the kitchen, Gaara following her.

It took Bara about twenty minutes to make the food and explain her library to him, since he made her all fidgety and nervous. Currently they were sitting together at the table, eating.

"So you were reading through a memory of yours?", he ate, not looking at her.

"Yes... Since there is not much to do here, I thought I could take the chance to learn something. But somehow I ended up repeating some of my memories... ", her face held a deep blush, but she had finally managed to keep her voice a little more calm.

"I'll let you out soon, I just want to double check some things. Would you be fine with that?", he eyed her.

A bright smile formed on her face: "I'd be really happy to go out soon... "

* * *

Bara had gone to sleep about an hour ago, her frame laying on his bed. He was standing in the door, watching her chest slowly rise and sink...

Gaara's thoughts raced through his mind, swirling around the image he had seen. Something told him that he knew that scene. Maybe from a different angle, but he knew it. He jumped through his memories, but he couldn't find it...

A few minutes later he gave up. Maybe he would remember that scene later...


	12. Gaara's birthday

White Rose

**So finally I've competed chapter 12**

**Well, since I'll be going to start work again soon, I won't have that much time to write. Still I'll try to update on a weekly basis, because I don't want to keep you guys waiting ^^**

**Just stay calm and don't freak out – this story will be continued – promise!**

**400 Hits O.o geez...**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, and don't forget that you don't need an account to do so =)  
**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Gaara's birthday

Soft moonlight was shining through the streets of Sunagakure, lighting the village in front of the Kazekage's eyes. Currently he was on his balcony, staring at the horizon. The past few days he had been reading through several documents of his Anbu. Gaara had given them the task to investigate the incident that had occurred in Uwasa and if there were any signs of it leading to Suna. All the reports had been negative, so Bara was safe. At least that was what he thought.

"**KYAAA!!!!**", a female screech occurred from the bathroom.

Alarmed he ran into his apartment, following Bara's voice. As he came closer to the scene he could hear a second voice, male...

"Oh shit! I didn't mean to... ", the male was standing in the bathroom door, looking nervous at the girl in front of him. She was only wrapped in a towel and he knew it was rude to stay there and stare, but he just couldn't move. Neither his feet, nor his eyes. "S-Sorry... I-I didn't know - **WOAH!**", suddenly he was pulled away from the scene, the bathroom door was closed.

"Kankuro – My office – NOW", Gaara pushed him into the direction of his office, making him nearly trip, "You okay Bara?"

Through the door a weak voice was heard: "I-I'm fine... He just scared the hell out of me... I-I'll come out as soon as I'm done... O-Okay?"

"Fine... ", he left the scene to join his brother.

Kankuro was now in Gaara's office, his face held a bright blush, '_That sure was a sight there... _'

"Why are you here?", the Kazekage entered his office and sat on his chair.

"I just came back from a mission and wanted to give you the report... ", Kankuro gave his brother a number of papers.

"And why did you enter my bathroom?", Gaara skipped through the documents.

Kankuro blushed at the though of the girl: "Erm... I thought you were in there... I didn't know you have a girlfriend... One that's so attractive in addition... ", he couldn't help but grin.

The Kazekage looked at his brother, his face had a disagreeing expression: "She is not my girlfriend, but my guest... And even if I had been in the bathroom, you can't just enter without asking for permission... "

"Erm... Yeah... Sure... I didn't think of that, I apologize... ", Kankuro scratched the back of his head.

"A shinobi of your degree should know that... Anyway you don't have to apologize to me, but to Bara... ", Gaara stood up from his chair.

"Bara?... Wait a second... You mean the waitress from the Uwasa inn? The girl you've been writing letters?", his face looked somewhat surprised, '_Damn... She has grown.._.'

"Yes. Any problems with that?", the Kazekage stood now in front of his brother.

"No problems... ", Kankuro left the office. Bara had been waiting in front of the room so he bumped into her: "Ah, you! Sorry for the assault in the bathroom, I thought my brother was in there."

"Since it wasn't on purpose, and I was almost done... I think I can accept your apology, Kankuro", the girl smiled and turned to Gaara, a blush creeping over her face, "You hungry Gaara?"

"Yes. Are you going to take long for dinner?", the Kazekage walked into the living room.

"I'll be doing something quick and healthy today", Bara was about to go into the kitchen when a strange growl was heard.

"Erm... Thinking of food got me hungry... ", Kankuro scratched the back of his head.

Since Kankuro was nearly starving, Gaara had been okay with his brother having dinner at his place. Silently the three of them had eaten. Hardly a word had been exchanged. Bara had been too nervous, the Kazekage calm as always and his brother too hungry.

As all of them were finished, Kankuro raised his voice again: "That was really good, thank you."

"You're welcome", Bara smiled.

"Now I'm tired. I'll better get to my apartment before I fall asleep on this table... ", the Kazekage's brother stood up.

"I'll bring you out", the girl giggled and accompanied him to the exit, leaving Gaara out of sight. There she began whispering: "Hey, Kankuro?"

"Huh?", he turned to face her.

"I don't know if Temari told you, but tomorrow evening we'll try to celebrate Gaara's birthday. Just his family and friends, which is strangely enough just you, her and me... Since he doesn't like it crowded I guess that's fine after all... Anyway it would be nice if you came at about 5 pm. Could you arrange that?", she bit her lip.

Kankuro whispered back: "I remember Temari mentioning that. Thanks for the reminder, almost forgot it. I'll be here."

A bright smile formed on Bara's face: "Great! See you later."

The boy bid her good bye and she closed the door behind him.

'_I hope everything will work out tomorrow..._', smiling she went back to the person she loved.

* * *

The next morning Bara woke up with a bright smile on her face, '_Today's the day!_'

Joyfully she jumped out of bed and strolled into the kitchen. An energizing breakfast later she prepared everything she needed for Gaara's birthday cake. She didn't want to just celebrate his birthday, but also the fact, that he really had become Kazekage. Bara would take care that this cake would become the best she ever made. And maybe she would even gain the courage to tell him how she felt...

It was about three in the afternoon when Temari entered Gaara's apartment, searching for Bara. She found the white haired girl in the living room, sleeping with her head on the table: "Bara?", as no reaction came she shook the girl gently, "Bara?"

"Hhuuuhh?... ", bleary she raised her head, "Whaa?... "

The kunoichi giggled for the girl in front of her sure was cute: "Are you done with the cake for Gaara's birthday?"

Bara jumped up immediately, adrenalin pumping through her veins: "**His birthday!!!**"

"Calm down, it's at least another three hours before he comes. Calm down... ", Temari pushed the girl back down to her seat, "How far is the cake?"

The white haired girl took a deep breath and calmed down: "It's almost done... It's currently in the fridge... The glazing and the text is missing, in case you want to add some... "

"I think it's better we leave it blank. I can take care of the glazing. YOU should take care of yourself", the kunoichi's finger pointed at her friend.

"Huh?", Bara looked down at herself.

"You're covered in flour and sugar powder. I think you should go and take a shower, if you want to look nice for him that is", Temari smiled.

The white haired girl blushed: "Erm... yeah... I'll go shower now, before Kankuro comes and assaults me again... "

"He assaulted you?", the kunoichi's face looked somewhat surprised and irritated.

"Erm... That was more of a coincidence. He wanted to give Gaara some reports and thought he was in the bathroom... Apparently I was in it, only wrapped in a towel... He apologized, so it's all fine... ", she stood up and walked to the bathroom.

"I'm going to teach that little brat some manners as soon as I see him... ", Temari muttered to herself.

Meanwhile Bara had entered the bathroom. A look in the mirror confirmed what her friend had told her. She really was covered in powder and different other things she had used to make the cake. Her clothes didn't look much better, '_I think I'll change my outfit while I'm at it..._ '

Swiftly she went into the bedroom and grabbed herself underwear and clothing before returning to the bathroom. There she peeled her clothes off and jumped into the shower. How she loved the feeling of hot water on her skin. Just like a warm rain on a sunny day. The shower was like a sanctuary to her. There she could feel free and let her thoughts run wherever they wanted to go, just like now. Her imagination was taking over her mind, dragging her into a different world.

Fingertips caressed over the skin of her shoulder, giving her goosebumps. Another pair of fingertips drove over her cheek, making her turn the head to the side, leaving her neck unprotected. A soft sigh left her lips as kisses were planted on her exposed throat and shoulder. She wished for him to be close to her. But more than anything else, she wished for his love.

She opened her eyes again, returning to the shower. Closely she watched her lucent reflection that was coming from the wall tiles: "Gaara... I love you... ", she felt awkward. But on the other side, maybe some practice would help her confess to him. A sigh left her lips as she left the shower. Now that she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror, towel wrapped around her body. Her hair had grown quite long since she had cut it the last time. It nearly reached her bottom, '_I think it's time for a change... '_

"Hey, Temari?", the white haired girl stood in the bathroom door.

"Something wrong?", the blonde walked up to her.

"Could you lend me your Kunai or something?", Bara let her friend enter the room.

"Why would you need something like that?", Temari scratched her head, her face looking puzzled.

"I want to cut my hair. I feel like I need a change... ", the white haired girl watched herself in the mirror while playing with her hair.

"I'm not so sure if a Kunai will do a good job on your hair... How about you get clothed while I get a pair of scissors. Then I'll gladly help you with your haircut", the blonde smiled.

"You have any experience in cutting hair? I've barely touched mine... I just let it grow for months... years... ", Bara was still fumbling through her hair, '_I want it shorter... Much shorter... It's easier to handle when it's shorter... Maybe I should make it look just like in my dream_... '

"Usually I do my hair so it won't grow longer than it is now. I even get to cut the hair of Kankuro and Gaara if they ask me to. I guess you can say I have enough experience with that. Now you better get dressed before you catch a cold, I'll go fetch a pair of scissors. And don't worry about the cake, I'm already done with it", Temari left the bathroom.

* * *

About an hour had passed as they were finished cleaning up the cut hair from the floor.

"I would have never thought, that you'd look so cute with the hair short", Temari giggled.

Bara blushed: "Do you really think?... I just thought I could somehow honor a part of my past by changing my look to what it was long ago... I'm really happy that you helped me with the hair... With your advice I'll be able to take care of it myself."

"You're welcome. But I still have to get used to your new look", the blonde poked her friend's cheek.

The white haired girl turned blushing to the next mirror. Her reflection resembled the girl in Bara's dream a lot, there were just some differences. One was that she had grown from her very young self. Another thing was the braid, bound from the crimson streak she had, it reached her well formed chest. The last thing was the missing hair clip. Gaara's present was currently in the bedroom, on the white dress she had prepared for this day.

"I think I'll get used to it soon enough", Bara smiled and started to drag her friend into the kitchen, "Let's take care of the candles on Gaara's cake now", the blonde just giggled.

After the two had arrived in the kitchen a sound was heard from the front door: "Hello?"

"That's most probably Kankuro... ", Temari grumbled, "I'll have a word with him. You can take care of the candles and the dinner, just don't mind us", she left.

The white haired girl shrugged it off and started to add candles to the cake. As she wanted to add the third one loud noise came from the living room. Apparently Temari was teaching Kankuro some manners. Bara could pick up that the issue was the bathroom assault from yesterday. Blushing she went on with decorating the cake and preparing food. In between she could hear things like: You've got no manners, it was all an accident, you should have known better and something like great view. After the latter a loud "Ouch" was heard. The white haired girl tried her best to ignore the two arguing, but that didn't stop her from blushing.

By the time she was done with everything it was about 5:30 pm and Temari and Kankuro were still arguing. '_Gaara will be coming home soon... I'll better change from shirt and shorts to the dress I've prepared..._', silently she went to the bedroom, leaving her friends alone.

"I've told you that I apologized to her!", Kankuro threw his hands into the air.

"Be grateful that it was her in the bathroom! Any other girl would have slapped you to the infirmary!", Temari's index finger poked his chest.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that Gaara has a girl in his apartment?! I never thought he'd ever get a chance to even be friends with ANYBODY!", his hands were gesturing through the air.

Temari slapped her brother as hard as she could without making him fly through the apartment: "**Goddamn! He's your brother!** You know very well, that father treated him badly... To say the least... ", she clenched her fists, "Don't you think he deserves to have friends? Or maybe someday develop positive feelings? It's not his fault for being nearly emotionless... Father wanted him to be like that... He was the one to isolate him... He was the one who sent killers... Bear that in mind, Kankuro... ", her eyes wandered to the floor.

He rubbed his burning cheek: "I didn't mean it that way... I'm sorry Temari... I'm honest when I say, that I want him to be happy... "

"You better be... ", she poked his forehead, a sad smile on her face, "I want you both to be happy... Don't forget that I'm more than your teammate. I'm also your older and caring sister... "

"Heh... ", Kankuro was still rubbing his cheek, "I know... But did you really have to slap me that hard?... "

"As long as I don't have to remind you of something like this: No more slapping – Promise... ", she rolled her eyes over, "So you better take care to not forget, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah... Damn, it's still burning... ", blood was pulsing through his face.

"There's ice in the freezer", a grin crept over her face.

"Hey! You caused it, so get me some! Didn't you just say you were my caring sister?!", he looked at her in disbelief.

Temari giggled: "No worries... I'll get you some... ", she stood up from the couch.

"Why are you two here?", Gaara appeared in the living room, his arms folded in front of his chest.

A female voice behind him answered his question: "Because it's your birthday... "

All eyes moved to the female, Bara. She wore a cute white dress, emphasizing her womanly features. It matched great with her hairstyle and her skin. She looked simply gorgeous.

Kankuro stared at the girl, not knowing what to say.

Temari giggled and walked into the kitchen to get a bag of ice for her brother.

Gaara stared at her for a while before he slowly averted his gaze, his face unreadable: "Is this going to be a party or something?"

Baara blushed: "Not really... I thought we could have dinner together and have a nice evening... or something like that... Erm... Unless you say otherwise... It's your birthday after all... "

The kazekage walked to the table where they usually ate and sat down: "Having dinner together is fine... I'm hungry... "

The white haired girl blushed a deeper red an smiled: "Just don't overload your stomach before I serve the cake", she giggled, "You can go seat yourself too, Kankuro."

"Erm... Yeah... ", he stopped staring and took a seat.

Temari returned with some ice and gave it to her brother: "There you go, Kankuro... ", afterwards she seated herself too.

"Where did you get that bruise from?", Gaara eyed his brother.

"I just wanted to ask the same", Bara was still standing.

Kankuro looked at his sister, her face held an apologizing grin: "Oh... Well... I just received some sisterly love, don't mind it... I'll be fine... Had worse injuries than that...", the girls giggled.

"Now if you don't mind, I'll go and get the dinner", the white haired girl smiled and entered the kitchen...

In the end the four of them had a really nice evening. The group had talked about different topics concerning the weather, politics, Gaara's duties as Kazekage, ninja techniques, some girlish topics and the food they were eating. Sometimes Bara had received looks of disbelief since she had known more about some topics than the others had thought, but the group shrugged it off.

Gaara was the one who had talked the least, but that was somehow expected since he never was the talkative type. It had been odd enough that he really had blown out the candles on the cake. Everybody could tell, that he had had a hard time choosing a wish before doing that. He had been staring at the candles for quite a while. Bara had just been happy that everybody really liked her food, but still she had given credits to Temari for helping.

It was about eleven in the evening when Kankuro and Temari left. Bara bid them a good night while Gaara had retreated to his balcony.

There he was again, on his balcony. The moonlight washing through the streets of the village he protected. Shukaku had gone to sleep a while ago so he was alone with his thoughts. Strangely enough he couldn't think of anything else but the picture he had seen this evening.

"You really like the balcony, don't you?", Bara was standing next to him, her arms folded behind her back.

Instinctively he turned to look at the person talking, only to see the picture he had been thinking about again. It was her. The hair, the dress... He had seen it somewhere before... Just where? And WHEN? He averted his gaze again as a strange feeling spread through his body. He didn't know why, but somehow he thought her to be... beautiful...

The white haired girl raised her voice again as she saw no reaction coming from him: "Did you enjoy your birthday dinner?"

"Yes. It was a nice evening... ", he folded his arms in front of his chest.

She smiled: "I'm happy to hear that... ", then she glued her eyes to the ground, her face blushing, "Um... I still have a present for you... "

"Yes?", he stared at the village in front of him.

Bara slowly walked up to him and handed him a small parcel with a red ribbon tied to it: "I wasn't sure if I should give it to you... You don't have to open it now... Since my guess is, that you won't know what it is, I offer to explain it to you as soon as you want to know... Just feel free to ask me... "

He took the parcel and eyed it: "Thank you... I'll open it tomorrow, I'll probably ask you about it then too. Since I believe that you're tired and would like to sleep I won't stop you from doing that... "

A warm smile crept over Bara's face: "Yeah... I am tired... Just one more thing... ", she blushed heavily.

"Yes?", he moved his eyes to her face without looking into her eyes.

The white haired girl hugged him dearly. Then she got up on her tiptoes and gave him a caring kiss on his cheek, whispering: "Happy birthday... ", rendering him speechless.

Afterwards she left the balcony with a "Good night". He could feel it again, this familiar sensation. Something like this had happened before in his life. But he just couldn't tell when and where. Something in his mind was missing to complete the puzzle... He just couldn't find it, at least not now...

Since it was no use to think about it, he went to his office to do some paperwork, the gift never leaving his hand. Enlightenment would come to him with time, that he was sure of...


	13. A solution to shyness

White Rose

**I feel so overwhelmed...**

**Guys... You make me blush, and giggle and squeek... I'd never thought my story would get this popular _scratches back of head_**

**A big thank you to all my reviewers: Ratsemina (aka Animestar001), katarauchiha653719 and HeartsWillToWrite!!! THANK YOU!!!**

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**The next thank you goes to the people who added this story to their favorites: koodori-mayonaka-hana, randomchick818 and (again) HeartsWillToWrite ^^ THANK YOU!!!**

**I do hope I won't disappoint any of you...**

**My greatest thanks goes to my boyfriend who is actually beta-reading all my stuff so far ^^ _kisses_!!! He really helps me out with this story – tells me if there are parts he doesn't understand and so on – love you! ^^**

**This is the longest chapter I've written so far. The reviews, faves and alerts got me really motivated, I could hardly do something else than continue writing, hehe...**

**500 Hits hooray!**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

* * *

A solution to shyness

_Something is distracting you from doing these papers... I wonder what that is..._, an amused growl ran through Gaara's head,

- '_Maybe it's the strange voice in my head, asking me annoying questions..._ ',

- _Oooooohhh... Interesting... You're talking back? Usually you keep ignoring me when I start annoying you... Something must be different today... _,

- '_Then you tell me, I have to concentrate..._',

- _Like you could do that now... Now let's see... The weather is sunny and dry – no difference... It's six in the morning and you're in the office – no difference... Documents in front of you – no difference... Erm... Wait... What's that on your desk?_, irony was heard in Shukaku's voice,

- '_That's none of your business..._ ',

- _I actually do believe that it IS some of my business... It looks like a gift and I think I know who gave it to you_,

- '_And what gives you that idea?_',

- _I can sense a very unique chakra signature coming from it. It's from Bara, right?_,

- '_You sense chakra inside of that parcel?_', he took the gift and analyzed it,

- _You haven't sensed it by now?... You really are distracted... Don't you want to open it and see what's inside?_,

- '_Later... I have a meeting in twenty minutes and I need to leave Bara a note before I go... _',

- _Whatever... _, Shukaku chuckled.

Gaara wrote a quick note before he stored the gift in his pouch and left the office. He walked to his bedroom and carefully opened the door to not wake her. Luckily Bara would always leave it a crack open since she trusted him. He scanned the room for a place to leave the note. After a few seconds he decided to leave it next to her possessions. Most probably she would find it there. While he placed the small piece of paper he took a glance at the girl in his bed.

Immediately his eyes were glued to her, he couldn't move them anymore. The breaking dawn washed over her fragile frame with a soft light, making her look like an angel. His body started to move on its own, making him go down on his knee. He found himself next to the bed, watching her sleep. She looked so peacefully, her face so calm. While he took in her facial features, his face warmed up slightly.

His hand was slowly moving towards her face as Shukaku raised his voice, _I'm sorry for interrupting, but didn't you just say you have a meeting sometime soon?_, Gaara's movement stopped, but his eyes never left her. What exactly was he doing there?

It took him a few minutes and another reminder from his demon before he retracted his hand and left...

* * *

Bara woke up at about nine, the sun shining directly into her face. Slowly she sat up while rubbing her eyes, a slight blush on her face, '_That was a strange dream... _'

Just as every morning, she left the bed and strolled into the kitchen to snatch herself something for breakfast. Stretching she waited for a pair of toast. As the bread jumped back up she sighed. In her mind she reviewed last night again and again, '_Oh, Bara... You're such a coward... There you had the perfect chance to confess and you screwed it... There must be some kind of solution to this... _'

Chewing the toast she walked through the apartment, thinking about a solution. Whenever she tried to figure out something she started walking around. It didn't matter to her where she walked to, just walking was fine. If she wanted to confess to him, she needed practice. But talking to her reflection in the mirror? She doubted that would work out. She needed more room to think. Gaara's apartment was big, but for days she hadn't left it. It was always the same in there, besides of Gaara being home or not.

Another sigh left her lips as she gave up and walked back to the kitchen to fetch herself some more toast. After a few minutes she walked into the bedroom, an apple in her mouth. By the time she wanted to change her clothes she noticed a piece of paper next to her backpack. She saw her name on it and picked it up. Had Gaara put it there for her? Curiously she unfolded the item and started reading:

_Feel free to leave the apartment whenever you want. Please don't stay away longer than 10 pm. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to not leave Sunagakure. And don't mind the cooking, today I'll be eating out due to some meetings._

_Gaara_

The girl blushed and folded the note again. She planted a soft kiss on the paper before storing it between her things. Her face held a caring smile, '_Thank you... _', finally she could leave this place and explore Suna. After Bara had changed to some casual clothes she unlocked the door to the apartment. A deep breath later she took her first step to liberty. Somehow it felt great, she just had to grin. After she had locked the door again she ran out to roam through the streets of the village.

There was a lot to see in Suna and Bara was curious to look at everything. The smell of food and spice hung in the air. It made her want to try and cook what she saw. Strolling down a random path she took a glance at everything that passed her way. Food, clothes, weapons, flowers... She was so distracted by all the new things, that she didn't even notice all people looking at her. Bara had a rather exotic look for the village hidden in the sand.

After a while she stopped near a rather empty flower shop and looked at a bouquet of red roses. Eyes closed she took in the tantalizing smell.

"You must be in love, young one... ", a female voice resounded not far from her.

Bara jumped up, her face blushing: "H-How do-"

"I know?", an old woman stood in the door to the shop, "I've seen a lot in my life. I can tell how people are by watching them. You for example picked the red roses to smell. You didn't even give a chance to my other flowers... "

The girl giggled awkwardly: "Was it that obvious?... I know they say that red roses are for beloved..."

The woman laughed: "You don't need to worry child. It was only obvious for me. I don't think that anybody else could tell... Well... Except for the person you love, maybe?... "

Bara blushed and averted her gaze.

"I see... You haven't told him yet... ", she laughed again, "I haven't seen such a display of innocence in decades... What's your name, child?"

The white haired girl hesitated: "Uhm... It's Bara... Just Bara... "

"Nice to meet you, little flower... My name is Chiyo. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? Maybe talk a bit?", she offered.

Bara somehow liked the old woman: "That would be nice", she smiled and entered the building.

"Now while you follow me, tell me what tea you would prefer", Chiyo walked through the shop.

The girl followed her, looking through the plants: "I like all sorts of fruit tea, but mostly I don't find them... Ginger would be fine too", they reached a small room in the back of the shop.

"Just take a seat, I'll be with you in a second... ", the woman opened some cupboards and grabbed two teacups and some small containers.

"You are really nice", the girl smiled.

The woman chuckled while preparing the tea: "I haven't heard that in decades either... "

"Why not? I can't see a reason to tell you otherwise", Bara's eyes scanned her.

"Maybe because people think I'm old now... They don't have a lot of respect for me... ", Chiyo turned to face the girl.

"What? That's not very nice! Elder are to be respected for they have much more experience and knowledge! People should always be nice to one another without depending on where or when they were born, what they like or how they look! If somebody should deserve otherwise then because he has no manners or can't behave... or has done a crime... ", she had lowered her voice at the last part.

The woman's eyes had opened in surprise: "Would you forgive a criminal?"

Bara looked startled, she wondered why the woman wanted to know that: "Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts you can give to somebody... ", she averted her gaze, "A human must be sincere and ask for forgiveness. If he is ready to change his life then he deserves his wish to be granted... It's not the past that makes us what we are, nor is it the future... The present and the decision we take in it is what makes us who we are... If you have to rate a human being... Rate him by the present day... ", the girl wondered why she had started rambling.

Chiyo poured some steaming liquid into her cup and did the same with the girl's: "Wise words for someone as young as you... Who told you that? Your mother maybe?"

Bara's face saddened instantly: "It's something I figured out for myself... "

"I see... ", the woman took a sip of her tea, "You're not from Suna, right? So where are you from?"

"I don't know... I don't have memories of my childhood... ", she took a sip of tea too, '_At least not much of them..._ '

"Maybe this is not the right topic... Would you like to talk about something different?", Chiyo felt that the atmosphere had tensed slightly.

"Sure... How come nobody is around the shop? Aren't you selling well? The flowers and plants actually look really good... ", Bara was back to happy and curious.

"I guess that's because of the service... Why should young people put up with an old woman like me, if they can go to the young, good looking females from the other shops?... But I'm fine with it. I don't need the shop's money for living. Most of the time I don't even open up. It's just a little hobby of mine... ", the woman added some sugar to her tea, "Sugar?"

"Erm... No, thank you... I like mine pure... If you don't need the money from the shop, how do you earn enough for living?", curiosity clearly got the best of the girl.

"Herbs... My greenhouse is actually filled with herbs for nearly every use. I grow and cultivate herbs... The flowers in this shop are merely here because I had some room left in the greenhouse to grow something. After a while they became a hobby... ", a soft smile covered Chiyo's lips.

Bara smiled too: "I think you're doing a great job with the flowers. I'd buy some, but I don't earn any money at the moment... It's a bit complicated... ", she laughed awkwardly.

The woman eyed the girl, thinking about something: "Would you like to work at this shop?"

"What?", the girl was surprised, "But you hardly know me and I don't even know if I have the time... It's really nice of you to offer me but I wouldn't like to disappoint you... I mean, I'm not even from here... Well, okay... I do live here now... But I don't even know how to take care of the things here... I'm better in cooking or some basic medics... I think... ", she blushed.

Chiyo chuckled: "I can tell you're nice and honest. I'm sure you'd do a great job. You can come around whenever you want and leave whenever you feel like it. If you sell something you can keep the money, but that's all I can offer you. So in case you wouldn't sell anything, you wouldn't earn anything. If you want to keep some flowers, just help yourself... See it as a little hobby of yours... "

"That's a great offer... I don't want to be rude, but could I think about it before I decide?", Bara bit her lip.

"Of course, little flower... Just feel free to come whenever you have made a decision. I'll be waiting... ", the woman drank the rest of her tea.

The white haired girl did the same and stood up afterwards: "Thank you for the tea, Chiyo. I think I'll be leaving now."

"It was nice meeting you. I would be happy to see you again and maybe we'll talk some more... ", the woman stood up and accompanied the girl to the exit.

"I'll come back", Bara smiled and bid the woman goodbye before she left.

'_You are special, little flower... _', Chiyo went back into the shop.

* * *

Meanwhile it had become noon. Gaara sighed, massaging his temples. Finally he was alone in his office and done with the first meeting of the day. Unfortunately there were two more in front of him. He needed a break, badly.

_If it wasn't for me, I'd recommend you some sleep..._,

the boy scoffed, '_Then recommend me something else... Whatever..._ ',

- _You shouldn't think about the meetings... Try to relax for a moment..._ ,

- '_And how do you imagine me doing that?..._ ',

- _You could open the gift. I'm sure that will make you forget the meetings for a while... _, the demon purred,

- '_Didn't I tell you that was none of your business?.._.',

- _You did, but I decided otherwise... But you can ignore me if you want, just open the gift._..,

- '_If I open it, will you stop bugging me for the rest of the day?_',

- _Sure. Just open it and I won't open my mouth for today. Unless you say otherwise of course.._.,

- '_Fine._..', the boy sighed.

Gaara's hand moved to his pouch and extracted the small parcel. Somehow he had to admit that he was curious of it's content. Whatever Bara had given to him, it had to be something special. The fact that he could sense her chakra in that parcel was intriguing him even more. Slowly he pulled the ribbon open. Afterwards he placed it on top of his desk. Hesitantly he removed the top of the parcel and placed it next to the ribbon.

_Wow... I haven't seen such an item in centuries.._. ,

- '_What is this?_',

- _Sylcium. An artificial, crystalline material. The production takes some rare materials, time and of course the respective knowledge_,

- '_And what use does it have?_',

- _In former times it was used for different things. But mostly it was used by... Erm... Friends... close friends... very close friends... _, the demon chuckled,

- '_I still don't know what function these two pendants should have_',

- _Then I'll explain you. As you might have noticed one of them is black and the other one is shining in greenish colors. The colored one has Bara's chakra sealed within it. The color will change depending on how she feels. Green is fine, yellow is for smaller injuries, red means she's wounded badly. If she should die, the pendant will shatter. Furthermore you can track Bara to almost wherever she goes. Just concentrate some of your own chakra into the material. That's how it works_,

- '_And the black one?_',

- _That one's empty. I guess she wanted to exchange pendants with you. I could tell you how to seal your chakra into the empty one, if you want me to..._,

- '_I'm not sure... _', he stared at the black pendant in his hand.

A knock occurred from the office door, interrupting his thoughts: "Excuse me Kazekage-sama. You're appointment has arrived", a male had entered the room.

"I will join them in a second... ", the kazekage waved his hand and dismissed the guard.

After the male had left Gaara sighed. Another nerve wrecking meeting lay ahead of him. Cautiously he put the pendants back into the parcel and stored them in his pouch. A deep breath later he left his office...

* * *

Bara sighed. Currently she was sitting on a bench near the marketplace. Watching all the loving couples stroll through the place made her crazy. Not that there were so much around, but they were all she could see. Sometimes she would imagine herself and Gaara to be such a couple. That drove massive amounts of blood towards her head. But on the other side she didn't know if he would do something like that with her...

Walking hand in hand... Hugging... Kissing... He never seemed to be the type for such things. At least not in public. But somehow she wouldn't mind it. She would be totally happy if he displayed any love to her. Place, time and amount didn't matter to her. Sighing she left the bench and walked to nowhere.

On her way she could hear different girls talking about the Kazekage.

"Isn't he just gorgeous?"

"He's sooo handsome!"

"And soooo powerful... "

"And he's a single!"

"Oh... I love him so much... "

As Bara heard that she clenched her fists. What the hell did they know about him anyway?! Talking about love and don't even know him personally... The girl grumbled and her feet picked up the pace. Those fake girls would tell him whatever he would want to hear, just to get near him. She despised them. How could they dare to talk about love?! Bara now ran through the streets, heading to wherever she didn't have to hear those despicable girls talk. Those girls were probably those who didn't even know Gaara existed before he became Kazekage. They loved his power – not him! They would tell him "I love you"... They would go straight up to him and lie! The white haired girl cried. Those fake women wouldn't hesitate to tell him anything!

After a while of running mindlessly around, Bara tripped. Her body buried itself deep into the sand, leaving her motionless on the ground. Why couldn't she have the courage to tell him? She who loved him for everything he was? His past, his present, his failures, habits...

Slowly she sat up and wiped away her tears. After all, crying wouldn't help her, it never would. She would find a solution to her problem! Somehow...

After a while she looked around to orient herself, '_I haven't been here before... Is this a school?_', she stood up. Since nobody was around she walked through the area. Her first impression was confirmed when she looked through a window and saw an empty classroom. She wondered if school was out already. Passing the windows she found a filled classroom. The boys and girls inside looked like they were bored to death. Bara had to giggle at that sight. The teacher wore a Suna headband and currently wrote something to the blackboard, '_I guess this is the ninja academy..._ '

Curious as the white haired girl was, she wanted to watch the class for a while, but she couldn't stay where she was. The whole class and the teacher could see her through the window. She decided to just walk along like nothing had happened until she was out of sight. Then she sneaked herself to the roof by walking up the walls. Afterwards she chose the corner of a window where she could hide a bit from the teachers eyes. Sticking to the wall she watched the class for a while.

Somehow it was fun watching the younger children in their classroom. Sometimes she teacher would pick a student, demonstrate a Jutsu and then the student had to try. I was cute how their clones were mostly messed up and their transformations too. Bara didn't even want to know how it would look if they combined the two techniques. The girl retreated her gaze from the window and giggled. If she tried something like that it would most probably fail totally. She had almost no experience, she would be damned to fail instantly. She imagined herself doing a clone of her and a transformation to Temari. The picture in her head made her break out in laughter.

Suddenly she stopped. An idea had come to her mind. This was the best solution to her problem she could ever get. Bara needed practice to confess and a clone of her that used a transformation jutsu to look like Gaara would most probably do a great job! Nobody would have to know! She could enter her library and get all the information she needed from there! Grinning she walked back up to the roof.

"Well, well... Looks like I found myself a spy!", a male voice came from next to her.

"Huh?", she turned to face the owner.

"You better give up before I have to fight you. Although I think beating you up would pleasure some of my blood lust", a grin crept over his face.

"Sorry, but I'm no spy. And I have no interest in fighting. I'm no ninja so don't mind me. I'll just leave", Bara wondered why this guy was behaving so strange.

The man scoffed: "You're a pretty good liar. I couldn't even sense it in your voice. Of course you have to be a ninja! You've just used advanced ninja techniques to get up here and watch Baki's class."

'_Oh shit..._ ', the girl scratched the back of her head, "Erm... that... That's the only thing I actually can do, I swear... And I wasn't spying on that Baki guy you mentioned. I just thought it was cute to watch the children... "

"You're not cooperating... This means I will have to turn violent. Since I can't see a headband or any other sign of a country you must be a missing nin", he chuckled, "This must be my lucky day."

Bara raised her hands defensively: "Erm... Listen... I'm really no ninja... Maybe I don't look like it, but I live around here. I'm just a plain, young girl, I swear... ", she was saying just the truth.

"I'll catch you and bring you directly to the Kazekage. I'm sure I'll get a nice reward", he chuckled.

"You can't bring me to Gaara! He's in a meeting! You can't just interrupt something important like that!", immediately she clasped her hands to her mouth. Judging by his facial expression she had just driven herself into a position that was worse.

"You know about the meetings? You just admitted that you are a spy – HA. A good one, but still a spy nonetheless! Besides, you dishonored Kazekage-samas name! I'll get you for this you bitch!", he grinned and changed his position to battle stance.

'_Tough luck, Bara... That guy is either an idiot or a very enthusiastic shinobi... TOO enthusiastic..._ ', she still tried to convince him, "Wait! I really am no ninja, nor am I a spy. I swear! Gaara and I are just friends, that's why I know about his meeting!"

"**That's it! No more lies! Fight!!!**", he charged towards her.

Within a blink of an eye Bara had jumped over him and ran away, jumping over the rooftops of Suna, '_Great... How the hell are you going to get out of this, Bara?!_'

The shinobi followed her, throwing Shuriken and Kunai.

The white haired girl had a really hard time dodging his attacks. She had never done anything that was even similar to this. A third of the weapons cut parts of her clothes and skin. Luckily enough only one single Kunai bore into her left arm. She pulled it out and kept it for self protection. After a while the man managed to stop her movement. The girl was scared for she didn't know what he wanted to do to her. Unfortunately this triggered some of her powers she couldn't really control.

"I got you surrounded... ", the man had made clones to stop her from fleeing.

"Listen, I REALLY don't want to fight. Please stop this... **I'm innocent!**", the grip on her Kunai hardened.

"You can tell that to the Kazekage as soon as I deliver you to him... Are you giving up, or do I have to inflict more injuries to you? You know that killing is no option. I need you alive... ", his face was stern.

Bara was cornered. She couldn't do anything without getting into trouble. Hopelessly she let the Kunai fall to the ground and bowed her head: "Please... I am innocent... And I don't want you to get any trouble... Just let me leave... I beg you... "

"You're stupid if you believe I'd do that... ", his clones grabbed her and pinned her to a wall, "Now... Since you're a missing nin, nobody would have a problem if I have some fun with you... ", he chuckled again.

The girls eyes widened in fear. This couldn't be! No! Not again! "**Don't touch me!**", her voice was filled with despair, tears slowly built up in her eyes. Why?! Why her? Her chance to be saved this time was practically zero!

His Kunai cut open her shirt, revealing her bra. Memories flew through her mind, leaving her motionless and in shock. She didn't want to be touched by any other being than Gaara! Her head filled up with images of him. She couldn't stop thinking of him.

As the shinobi grabbed onto her chest she screamed: "**GAARA!!!**", suddenly a wave of water slammed the man against the opposite wall. His clones disappeared and Bara fell limp to the ground, crying.

"Damn bitch... I wanted to do you a favor before you get assassinated... PAH... I'll bring you directly to Kazekage-sama... ", he walked back up to her.

The shinobi gagged and tied her up before throwing her over his shoulder. Bara was too traumatized to pay any resistance to his doing, she just kept shedding tears. With his prey on his shoulder the shinobi left the scene, jumping from rooftop to rooftop...

* * *

**HAHA – I got you a little cliffy here, didn't I? ^^ You didn't actually believe that their lives would just continue like there was nothing bad in the world, did you? To be continued soon...**

**Well, this is the first chapter that gets a little author's note at the end, hooray!**

**I really grew to like this couple I've set up, so I thought that I'd really like to put Gaara and Bara into a different setting. If I'd give these two a different setting, different lives and a different destiny (well, okay, I'd make them couple. That would actually stay the same, harhar...), would you care to read? And what would you like to see? I would start the new story as soon as I finished "White Rose" here. ^^ So no delay to this – promise!**

**Leave me a review containing your thoughts to this, thank you =D**

**Bara: I'm so afraid! _cries_**

**Shinobi: You better be! HARHAR...**

**Gaara: What the hell are you doing?! I'm in a fucking meeting!!! _pissed _**


	14. Unforgivable

White Rose

**Yeah... I bring you chapter 14**

**Since I got so many reviews on chapter 13 I just couldn't let you guys wait very long ^^**

**So thank you to all my reviewers for motivating me (and helping with the content since I like to read the reviews while developing it): HeartsWillToWrite, katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, koodori-mayonaka-hana and invisible-gurl**

**Next point on the list is a thank you to Jxmorphine for the fave and writingnonstop for the alert**

**Of course a big thank you goes to my boyfriend for beta-reading: love you!**

**So this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I guess that's mainly because I hardly ever write a battle scene D: sorry for the short battle, I will try to improve that next time. As a compensation for that, this chapter reveals some secrets!!! =3**

**600 Hits and currently racing to 700, hooray!**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

_

* * *

_Unforgivable

Muffled pleas escaped the white haired girl's mouth. She pleaded just for one single thing: Gaara. That was all she wanted, that was all she said. Crying she pleaded for him, but no one would understand what she was saying since she was gagged. The thought of him consumed her so much that she didn't even mind her bleeding wound. His name echoed through her mind, repeating itself endlessly.

Somehow she felt dizzy, her sight slowly fading. Maybe it was the shock? The trauma? It could have also been the blood loss, she didn't know how much she had lost. Maybe that bastard poisoned her...

She didn't care. All that mattered to her was Gaara. All what she wanted, was to be with him. Bara fought for her consciousness and sanity. She knew that she would see him if she just managed to stay wake. She longed to see his face... Hear his voice...

"Don't you dare to fall asleep up there... ", the man who carried her growled. Bara had stopped pleading and somehow he didn't like that. He wanted her to be in pain, both mentally and physically. With a bright grin on his face he spanked her hard and enjoyed her muffled scream. He was so delighted by her pain, he just had to admit that he was a sadist. Playfully he fondled the bruised flesh, making the girl on his shoulder plead and squirm: "That's the way... Good girl... ", he chuckled. Luckily he had tied her hands behind her back so she couldn't hammer on his spine. That would have been annoying...

* * *

Meanwhile in the Kazekage's office a loud argument was going on. On one side of the room stood five people and on the opposite side another five. They were leaders of some clans in Suna, currently arguing about who was right and who was not. Their issue was quite trivial, but that didn't stop them from nearly killing each other.

Gaara was in the middle of it all, his nerves nearly down to zero. At the beginning of the meeting, their behavior had been more tolerable. By now they were a pure nuisance. He couldn't concentrate a single thought, his eyes were glued to his desk. Temari stood next to his chair, thinking approximately the same as her brother. The situation was getting worse by the second. The conflict became louder and louder. Nobody noticed that a part of the noise actually came from outside of the office.

Suddenly the doors busted open and a man entered the office, his face held a mad grin. The guards that usually stood in front of the Kazekage's office lay unconscious on the floor. Oddly enough the two groups didn't mind this new commotion at all and just kept shouting at each other.

Gaara had closed his eyes and massaged his temples: "**STOP! All of you!**"

Every motion in the office stopped. The only person who dared to move was the man that had busted through the doors. He left for a second to grab something. As he returned he had a human thrown over his broad shoulder, everybody could see the legs hanging from his frame.

"This meeting is to be delayed to another date... Temari, bring them out... ", Gaara growled, he was pissed.

"Of course... ", she turned to the two groups, "I will assign you the next appointment as soon as you all have left the office. Follow me... ", she knew very well that her brother was close to his edge.

Since the men were scared of Gaara, they remained silent and followed his orders. It looked like a really bad idea to revolt against his words now. As Temari was about to leave she took a glance on the man's prey. Immediately her eyes widened in shock and her movement stopped.

"Temari, leave... ", the Kazekage had sensed her stopping.

She turned to her brother: "But-"

"**GO!**", he cut her off before she could utter another word, his tone forceful.

Temari's eyes wandered to Bara and their gazes locked for a brief moment. The white haired girl gave her friend an exhausted look that said it was okay if she left. She'd always think of everybody else first. The blonde nodded sadly before she gave that man a glare of death and left. He would pay for his crime. If Gaara wouldn't make him pay, she would do it for sure.

By the time Temari and the groups had left the Kazekage raised his voice again: "Why are you here, Okku? I was in the middle of a meeting... You knocked out my guards... You busted my doors... Why shouldn't I crush you like an insect?", he tried his best to stay calm. The muffled sounds he could hear made his insides crunch up slightly.

"I have a little present for you. It's a spy I caught. She was spying on Baki when I found her. She knew about the meetings you have. I tried to get some information out of her, but she was... uncooperative... ", Okku chuckled again.

The Kazekage stood up from his chair and scanned the being in front of him. Okku had always been somewhat strange. Gaara never understood why his father had trusted this man. He used to take care of a lot of assassinations and interrogations. He was known for torturing his prey secretly, at times he was a maniac. Okku carried somebody and by the looks of it, it was a girl. The muffled sounds came from this prey of his. The man spanked her again, enjoying her pain and squirming. Gaara's insides started to boil as he saw a strand of white hair. It couldn't be HER, could it?!

"Put the girl down", the Kazekage hissed and clenched his fists.

"Sure", Okku laughed and threw Bara brutally to the ground.

Her head met nonchalantly with the floor, pain spreading through her cranium. Her bones didn't feel much better, a crack or two could be heard. A muffled scream left her lips, the sound of it made Gaara's fingers twitch and his eyes widen. It WAS her! That's why Temari had tried to talk back. Quickly he walked up and knelled next to the girl, analyzing her status.

The man kept laughing at the painful view: "You deserve it... Bitch... "

Gaara saw a lot of wounds on the girl's body. Blood stained every cut. Her shirt was cut open and it didn't look like that happened in combat. Had he made indecent advances to her? Had he dared to rape her?! His eyes moved to her face. She looked like she had cried, but her eyes held a soft glow as their gazes met. She must have been relieved to see him. Her sight pushed a painful sting right through his chest. Fury and hatred started to wash through his body.

The boy removed her gag, giving her the chance to talk. Bara didn't have much strength at the moment, but she managed to say something: "Gaara... ", a weak smile formed on her lips. Finally she saw him, finally she was by his side.

"You dare to dishonor his name again?!", Okku growled and clenched his fist, "You are going to pay for that", his nuckles made it's way straight to her tortured body.

The girl wouldn't mind the pain that was coming to her anymore. She was where she wanted to be, that was all that mattered. With a weak smile she closed her eyes and awaited whatever was to come...

"**WHAT THE HELL?!?!**", Okku's movement stopped before he could touch her, his arm surrounded by sand, "**Why are you protecting that spy?**"

"She is a civilian, no spy", Gaara cautiously took the girl bridal style. She seemed to have fallen unconscious: "You have permitted yourself too much lately. I reckon you have gone insane... ", the boy tried his best to contain himself.

The man scoffed: "**You call ME insane?!**... I should have known that you're weak... Your father was so much better than you.** Better than you could ever be! **He should have killed you personally... Or better, he should have killed your mother before she could even bear you", he growled and fought the sand. Okku had hit a touchy nerve as these words left his mouth.

Somewhat surprised he dodged a wave of sand that was about to grab him. The second one threw him across the office, making him hit a wall. With a loud crunch the material broke and small pieces of it fell to the floor. The man started to laugh maniacally, he seemed unimpressed. Gaara had to be careful while fighting. He had to protect the girl in his arms.

Temari had heard the noise and ran upstairs to her brother, luckily the clan leaders had already left. On her way up she heard glass breaking, '_**Fuck! **__That doesn't sound too good..._', a few seconds later she reached the office. There she ran to the window and found Okku and the Kazekage fighting. Her brother seemed handicapped. As she jumped out of the broken window she realized that Gaara was carrying Bara, protecting her. Unfortunately that made it very hard for him to fight his opponent.

"**Gaara!**", she tried to call his attention to her. Then she grabbed her fan and blew an attack onto Okku: "**I can take care of her!**", the gush of wind made the man back off from his attacks for a brief moment.

The Kazekage used this time to bring the white haired girl to his sister, carefully he handed Bara over: "She needs medication, take care of that", then he left to fight again. Sand built up next to the two girls to protect them as weapons came flying.

As soon as the boy had left Bara started to feel uncomfortable. Weakly she squirmed in Temari's arms while she was brought back inside the office. The blonde placed her cautiously on the desk and pushed chakra through her body to analyze her. Temari wasn't necessarily a medical nin, but no doubt she had mastered the absolute basics. Bara had quite a number of injuries. Cuts were all over her body, bruises on her legs. The worst infraction seemed to be on her left arm. To Temari's surprise all the wounds seemed to heal on their own at an unusual high speed, '_Is this what she was talking about when she said her blood was different?._..'

"Gaara... ", the white haired girl plead weakly for him, squirming on the table.

"He'll come back soon. Calm down... ", the blonde took care that Bara wouldn't fall from the desk. Sadly she turned her head to the window, searching for her brother...

* * *

In the meantime Gaara had tried to catch Okku with his sand. Mockingly the man had always fled from the Kazekage's attacks, throwing more rude insults at the boy. He was officially insane. Gaara had lost his temper, his decisions were affected by that. He would kill that damn bastard, but before he killed him, he would make him pay. Pay for what he said back in his office. But mostly pay for what he had done to Bara.

As the Kazekage's attacks became more aggressive Okku stopped his rants. He had to concentrate on dodging. Suddenly a spike managed to cut deep into one of his legs. The next wave of sand caught him, leaving him immobile. The man laughed maniacally as Gaara neared him, the sand slowly covering his body.

Okku spat on the Kazekage as soon as he was close enough: "You are just a piece of shit compared to your father", pressure was applied to his body.

"I don't care what you think... ", his hands formed the deadly jutsu, "Sabaku Kyuu."

"**You are not worthy o**-", his words died down.

The sand had covered his entire being, slowly crushing his frame. Gaara took his time to kill this idiot. Cracks and pops could be heard and some small parts of the sand had become crimson. "Sabaku Sousou!", the Kazekage clenched his fist and immediately his opponent was pulverized. Sand and blood fell to the ground, he never liked leaving a mess.

Slowly he calmed down, but satisfaction didn't reach his mind. Gaara ran his hand through his hair. He had to go back and look after Bara. He pulled out the pendant from his pouch to check its color. It had a more orange than yellow color. Hasty he flew back to his office, there he found the two girls. His sister looked like she had waited for him. Temari had cleaned Bara's wounds and tied up her shirt to cover her privates.

"How is she?", the Kazekage glued his eyes to the slightly squirming girl on his desk. She looked like she was having a nightmare.

"She has some wounds, but she will heal them all until tomorrow early morning. She just needs to get some rest... ", Temari eyed her brother, "I don't know why she doesn't calm down... Something terrible must have happened to her... "

Hardly audible the white haired girl plead again for Gaara.

The boy removed a strand of hair from her face, '_I couldn't save you this time... Forgive me..._ ', slowly she calmed down as he touched her skin. He took Bara again bridal style and turned to his sister: "Cancel everything for today... Please take care that the damage done to my office will be fixed... I'll go home... If there should be any problems, please take care of them. As long as it's not important, I don't want to be bothered."

"I'll take care of it... ", the blonde smiled sadly, "I hope she'll be fine... "

Gaara took a last glance at his sister before he left. His face might have been emotionless, but Temari had seen the sadness in his eyes. He might have been the Kazekage, but lastly he wasn't able to protect his friend. She knew that he wouldn't forgive himself for that. At least not yet...

* * *

It didn't take Gaara long to reach his apartment. Inside he placed Bara on his bed and removed his and her sandals. He stood and watched her for a few minutes, before he turned to leave her alone.

"Don't... please... ", the white haired girl was half wake and half in delirium.

Slowly he turned to her, his face unreadable.

"Don't leave me alone... please... stay... ", she lifted her hand a few inches, indicating him to take it.

He hesitated, staring at her hand. Shukaku didn't utter a single word, it seemed like he wasn't there. The boy felt strange.

"Please... ", her weak voice broke, her hand sunk back on the bed. Tears fought their way to her eyes.

Slowly he walked up to her, not really sure what he was doing. Then he sat next to her on the bed. A warm smile crept over Bara's face. She had wished herself to be near him and now she was, '_What a wonderful dream..._ ', she tugged his shoulder, trying to pull him down to her, but he didn't move.

After a short while he changed his sitting position. Now he was sitting completely on the bed, facing her: "What do you want?... ", his voice had a soft, unknown tone.

Bara slowly sat up, staggering a bit: "A hug... "

Again he hesitated, but a moment later he pulled her into a tight hug. His arms pressed her body firmly to him. Somehow he felt that he could protect her that way. He didn't want to let go of her anymore, at least not now: "Like this?... "

"Hmhm... ", she approved his question and closed her eyes. She felt so safe, she wouldn't want to be anywhere else: "Can I have... one more thing?", she yawned.

"Of course... ", he wondered what else she could want, but on the other side he couldn't deny her wish. Now even more than ever. After all he hadn't protected her.

Dozy she clutched her hands to his chest and half opened her eyes. Their gazes met, a slight warmth rose into her cheeks. Bara pulled herself closer to his face. Closing her eyes she gave him a kiss, caressing his lips with her own.

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise, his cheeks held a slight blush. Slowly she sank back into his arms, dozing off into a dreamless sleep. Why? This question was the only thing running through his head. All his other thoughts had left his mind. They had shared their lips before, twice. Why was it so different this time? Why did it feel so strange? He wanted more of it, but why? And most important: Why had she done it? Why?...

While his thoughts were running wild, he hugged her tighter to him. Shielding her from the world outside. Half an hour had passed before he bent forward to end his embrace and let her rest. Basing himself on his hands he watched her for a while, his body above her. Maybe if he repeated what had happened... Maybe that would help him understand...

He couldn't deny that he wanted to feel that sensation again. It had felt so good. Never had he felt anything similar. His body lowered, his face nearing her. At least he had to try and reconstruct that feeling. His mind wouldn't rest if he didn't.

Cautiously he brushed his lips against her lips. They were so soft. He closed his eyes to intensify the feeling. Then he kissed her. There it was again. That strange sensation he had felt. A second time he crushed his lips on hers, savoring this delightful feeling. A third and last time he stole Bara a kiss before he could leave the bed. The feeling of her lips was so addictive to him... He stood in the door frame and watched her. His eyes roamed over every inch of her body while his mind was trying to answer all his questions.

Gaara stopped to think about the why as he discovered something on her ankle. It looked like a tattoo. He hadn't seen this before since she usually wore her sandals and he'd never look there. The picture resembled a rose, it looked like an ornament, or a tribal. Realization struck him like a lightning. Suddenly so much made sense. Her looks, that symbol, the picture he had seen...

He walked into his office and searched through some documents. After a short while he found the dossier that carried all information about himself. Slowly he opened it and skimmed through the contents. After a few seconds he stopped at the part of his childhood. An item hung between the pages that held all the information about the sixth year of his life. It was a silky, white handkerchief. It had Bara's tattoo sewed onto one if it's edges.

That night on the playground... That girl... It hadn't been a dream like he had always been told... She had been real... The hug, the kiss on his cheek... Everything had been real... And now she lay there in his bed, sleeping. The little girl that had given hope to him as a young child. He had found her as a grown up, giving him the strangest of feelings he'd ever felt. But did she remember him? Gaara knew of her amnesia. Most probably she wouldn't remember.

He removed the hankie from the file and put it back. Then he sat into his chair. Staring at the silky fabric he asked himself if it was all just a big coincidence...

* * *

**Aaaawwwww.... What a cute ending, isn't it? ^^ But don't you believe that the happy ending is near yet. It's not! HAR HAR...**

**So about the next story of Bara and Gaara: I've decided to name it "The Flower of Death". Like it? ^^ Since I'm quite into vampires I thought I might do a vampfic, but I'm still undecided. Anyway I won't start it until I'm done with "White Rose".**

**Currently I'm wondering if the summary of "White Rose" is still fine. Maybe it's too short? What do you guys think? Any ideas to change that?**

**Sneak preview:**

**Bara: Hey Gaara. When did I go to sleep last night? I can't remember our dinner.**

**Gaara: Y-You don't remember last evening? _simultaneously relieved and disturbed_**


	15. Revelations

White Rose

**Hell yeah! Chapter 15 is done and it's the longest chapter till now... hehe ^^ It's incredible what ideas I get while waiting for my coworker to unlock the door to our office xD**

**So yeah... This chapter contains a lot of information and story. I hope you will enjoy them =D**

**Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001 and HeartsWillToWrite**

**Just to make you anticipate: There will be one kiss in this chapter (HAR HAR)**

**700 Hits hooray!**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Revelations

Bara jumped up from the bed, her face flushed deeply red. Before she could realize that she had been dreaming a sting of pain rushed through her cranium. Holding her head she sat down on the bed again. '_That was a quite... err... arousing... dream..._ ', flustered she ran her fingertips over her boiling cheeks. How could she have dreamed about something like THAT? She couldn't even imagine herself doing anything near to that with Gaara. Okay, to be honest she could imagine hugging and kissing him, but anything beyond was just...

'_**GAAAAHH!!! I can't get the pictures out of my head!!!**_', she let herself fall with her back on the bed. But did she want to get those images out of her head? They way he had kissed her? His voice calling her name so softly? His hands roaming over her body? And then...

Bara clasped her hands over her heated face, '_**Stop thinking of it!**__ You're just going to drive yourself crazy! You are millions of miles away from getting even near to THAT... _', lazily she got out of bed. Somehow she felt like she needed a shower more than breakfast. She had to free her mind and the shower seemed like the best place to go.

Suddenly she stopped. One step backwards led her to the mirror in Gaara's bedroom. Confusedly she analyzed her reflection. Hadn't she changed her clothes before going to sleep? Where did the bandage on her left arm come from? How did she damage her clothing? And why was her shirt tied up so strangely? As she opened the knurls she saw that the fabric was cut. After removing the bandage from her arm she found no wound, strange. Slowly she realized that she couldn't remember when she had gone to sleep. What had happened? The last thing she could remember was the ninja academy and the idea she had developed there. Well, except for her dream...

'_Oh crap... There goes one of the few shirts I have... And I can't sew up these shorts either... I need to buy me new clothing... Maybe I'll remember later what happened. I'll go check the library after taking a shower. Clumsy as I am I can image that I fell from the school's roof or something.._.', Bara undressed herself and walked into the bathroom. Since it was near to noon and the apartment seemed uneventful, she had presumed that she was alone. Nobody would see her walking around in her underwear.

A refreshing shower later she walked back to the the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her body. There she put on the white dress. It was the only rather clean clothing she had left. Actually she had wanted to wear the outfit she had slept in and wash her other things, but she seemed to have no luck. '_I need clothing... For that I need money... And for money I need a job... I think I should accept Chiyo's offer. It's the only way to get what I need. She is a nice woman anyway and I would just be embarrassed when I'd have to ask Gaara for some clothing again... _', blushing she closed her eyes, entering her library.

As she arrived in the cathedral she saw that a new door had opened. She was curious of it's contents, but first she wanted to go an check her memories. It didn't take her long to read through the book since she could remember most of it's contents. Unfortunately she really couldn't find what had happened to her in the evening. Next to the pages she could remember she could only find black and burnt paper. The next thing she could read again was her dream, starting off with a tight hug. This is where she closed the book, a deep blush decorating her face. She didn't have to see the next part now...

Slowly she walked to the newly accessible room. Immediately she noticed a waterfall, pouring it's water into a huge basin. It looked beautiful. As she skimmed through a few books she knew exactly how to label this room. It wasn't hard to guess that this room contained water techniques. The waterfall was a highly visible hint. After she had labeled this room "Water", she left to get some breakfast or maybe rather lunch.

Walking to the kitchen she passed Gaara's office. The door was open and the sound of moving papers came out of it. Bara's heart sunk to her knees and her face blushed madly. Somebody was in there and most probably it was HIM. Uneasily she took a peek into the room and saw the Kazekage, doing some paperwork. He had been in his office while she had walked through his apartment nearly naked?!

'_**OH SHIT!!!**__ You didn't meet him so he didn't see you, __**right?!**__ Just calm down. He surely was in his office all of this time so he couldn't have seen you! Why would he want to look anyway... __**Just get yourself together!**_', she pressed her back against the wall next to his office. She just hoped he hadn't noticed her yet.

Gaara on the other side of the wall had noticed her. To be exactly he had already sensed her when she had jumped out of his bed. His eyes had followed her figure as he had seen her walking to the bathroom. Secretly he had waited for her to come to his office. Strangely enough Shukaku wasn't anywhere, Gaara felt somewhat awkward. Nonetheless he felt the need to talk to her about last evening. "You can come in, if you want to... ", he could feel her jump up before she slowly walked up to his desk. He left his chair to join her, his eyes glued to her lips. It was hard for him to restrain the urge to kiss her.

"Gaara, why aren't you at the Kazekage building?", her face held a nice blush.

The wish to kiss her became stronger by the second: "The office there has been damaged... I'll be working here until it's fixed again... Listen... About yesterday evening... "

"Was I with you last evening?", her blush deepened.

"What do you mean?", his insides crunched up.

"I can't remember what happened. I just woke up and wondered why my clothing was all damaged... ", she bit her lip, "I thought you could maybe tell me... "

His fingers started to twitch: "You... You can't remember? Not one single thing?"

"I do recall some parts of yesterday... The last thing I remember is that I have been strolling through the streets and somehow got to the academy... ", she wouldn't tell him about her dream. She would die of embarrassment if she did. It was better to keep that a secret: "I don't know how I got home or when I went to sleep... Can't you tell me?"

On one side the boy was endlessly relieved that she couldn't remember the assault on her. This way she wouldn't have to deal with the traumatic experience. But on the other side... The kiss she had given to him... She didn't remember it anymore... He had wanted to ask her why she had done it, but now?... Should he confront her about that event? Maybe it would trigger her memories and she could answer his question... But it could also bring back her memories of Okku...

"Did something bad happen?", concerned she looked at him while she shyly tugging his upper arm. She had noticed the absence of his mind.

He came back to his senses and eyed the girl in front of him. Softly he grabbed her hand and removed it from his arm: "You've been clumsy and hurt yourself. You had to be patched up a bit, but it looks like you're fine again... ", he lied.

"Oh dear... I've already thought that something like that might have happened... ", a shy smile covered her face, "You hungry? I wanted to get me some breakfast, but since it's about noon I could make us lunch."

"That would be nice... I'll do some more paperwork in the meantime... ", Gaara sat back into his chair.

"I'll let you know when the food is ready", with a bright smile she left his office.

Sighing he ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to know it so badly... He wanted to know why she had done it... But he couldn't confront her... He wouldn't... There was a huge chance that she would remember the assault if he confronted her. He didn't want to bring back those memories to her. They would only hurt her. Bring many tears to her beautiful face. And he couldn't stand that. He couldn't hurt her. He wanted to protect her from everything... He could wait for his answers. Sooner or later he would find out, just like he found out about their childhood meeting.

Playfully he ran his fingertips over his lips. He wanted to kiss her even more than before. He wanted to feel her soft lips. Caress them with his own. Feel that delightful sensation it gave to him. But he had to resist this urge. Kissing meant entering private territory and he wasn't sure if he had the permission to enter hers...

* * *

Smiling brightly Bara stood in front of Chiyo's flower shop, it was about two in the afternoon. After having lunch with Gaara and washing her clothes, she had left the apartment. Somehow she thought that he had behaved a little bit strange, but probably she just had been seeing things. Shrugging that thought off she entered the building: "Hello? Chiyo? Are you here?"

The old woman stepped back from a colorful bush: "Don't you ever use name suffixes, Bara?"

"Er... No... Never used one... Do you want me to address you differently?", the white haired girl scratched the back of her head.

"Don't bother me. I was just wondering because I'm not used to being called only by my name, except by my brother that is", Chiyo walked up to the girl, "You look really nice in that dress... Have you decided?"

Bara smiled: "Thank you... I have come to a decision and my answer is yes. I would appreciate to work in your shop."

"That's good news. I'll show you around and explain everything you need to know. If you have some time and interest I'll show you the greenhouse in the evening. Would you like that?", the woman had a soft smile on her face.

"That would be great. I just hope it won't take too long. I promised my friend to cook him dinner", the girl blushed a bit.

"That should work out quite well. Now let me start... ", Chiyo waved her hand for the girl to follow her.

About half an hour had passed while the woman showed and explained everything to Bara. Thanks to the explanations, the girl could easily understand what Chiyo wanted her to do.

"Did you memorize everything?", the woman gave her a watering pot, she had taken care of a few plants.

"Yup. Doesn't sound too complicated. I can handle that", Bara took the item and stored it where it belonged.

"I'll close the shop in about two hours. We can go to the greenhouse afterwards. It's up to you if you want to stay around and maybe work a bit in the shop or leave until then", Chiyo eyed her new coworker.

The girl took a little, white flower: "I think I'll be staying till then. Maybe I can get you some customers", she giggled and attached the bloom to her hair. Happily she went outside and tried to transact the newly won information into action. Finally she felt useful again. Suna wasn't a bad place to be at all. Somehow it felt like home...

"Erm... Excuse me... ", a male voice resounded right behind her.

Involuntarily Bara jumped up. She hadn't noticed anything since her thoughts had been wandering around. Surprised she turned to the voice.

"Did I scare you?", there stood a boy, scratching the back of his head. He was around her age.

The white haired girl calmed down: "Don't mind it. How can I help you?"

"Do you work here?", his finger pointed to Chiyo's shop.

"Yup", she took a bucket with flowers, wanting to change their water.

"I haven't seen you till now... Are you knew?", he smiled shyly.

"Yeah... I guess you can say that... Anything else?", she watched him curiously.

Suddenly he blushed and laughed awkwardly: "Oh, yeah, right... Flowers... I wanted to get some... For... erm... my mum... "

"Would you mind if I take care of these first? I'll be right with you as soon as I'm done, okay?", she pointed at the bucket.

"Err... That's fine... I'll just wait here... ", again he scratched the back of his head.

She gave him a smile and left, '_Funny guy..._ '

After changing the water, Bara went back to the boy and helped him choose some flowers. Tying them together to a neat bouquet she thanked him for his purchase. Afterwards she accompanied him to the exit and saw him walk up to a group of boys. It looked like they were around his age, most probably his friends or something. The girl wondered why they laughed at him but shrugged it off. She had work to do and was determined to make it right.

The afternoon passed by and she was surprised that the flowers hadn't sold that bad as she had thought. In two hours she had had about half a dozen customers. Most of them male, but not all. She could remember a cute little girl, that had wanted to have a flower tied to her hair just like Bara. The white haired girl giggled at that memory. It had been impossible to resist that child.

"You've done a great job within such a short time", Chiyo was currently counting the money in the cash box.

"I did?", the girl smiled happily.

"You brought in some customers", the woman chuckled, "And you made some money. Don't forget that you can keep it."

Bara walked up to her employer: "Are you really sure I can take all of it? I really don't want to be a load for you... "

"It's fine. Just take it and let's get to the greenhouse", Chiyo packed up her things and was ready to go.

The girl took the money and bowed: "Thank you very much... "

Together they left the building. Chiyo locked the entrance and gave Bara a key: "If you want to work when I'm not around, you'll need that. It's the spare key", the girl nodded and followed her to the greenhouse.

They had walked through the streets for about fifteen minutes before they had arrived at their destination. There were quite a number of buildings where plants were grown, but Chiyo headed for the last in the row...

* * *

"**GODDAMMIT!!!**", a boy stood in front of Chiyo's flower shop, "**Where the heck did that old bag of bones get to?! She told me to be here and now she's nowhere!**", he ruffled his cap and the hair underneath it. Grumpily he walked away, '_I'll search for her at the greenhouses.._. '

A few minutes later he reached the conservatories. Crabbily he walked to every house and tried to open the door. He was too fretful to go and knock and why should he knock at the door of a greenhouse anyway? After a short while he arrived at the last house. He had already seen from outside that Chiyo was in there.

Clearly irritated he opened the door and stormed in: "**EY, Chiyo-sama, WHY THE FUCK weren't you at the shop you old ha**aaa-", his mouth stopped moving.

"Hello Kankuro... ", Bara greeted him with a reproachful face, "You nearly yelled my ears off... That's not very nice... "

The boy nearly turned to stone. He hadn't expected HER to be here. He really had a bad timing with this girl: "Err... I didn't mean to... Why are YOU here?"

"I was explaining her some parts of her new job. She actually works for me at the shop. But that's none of your business, Kankuro. I guess you've come for the herbs?", the woman pulled out a small bag from her clothing.

"You said I should meet you at the shop. Why weren't you there?", slowly he calmed down.

"I decided different, that's it", she threw the bag with herbs to him, "How come you know each other?"

Kankuro caught the item: "She's a friend of Gaara... Couldn't you have told me that you were going to leave the shop or something? I've waited half an hour for you... ", he grumbled, '_Old hag.._.'

Chiyo couldn't believe her ears as she heard the boy. She turned to the white haired girl: "A friend of Gaara?!"

Bara blushed immediately, her eyes wandered to the floor: "Yeah... We're friends... "

The woman's eyes widened. Had she seen and heard right? The girl's reaction had been unmistakable to understand for her. Was he the one she loved?! She was in grave danger if she did...

"Oi, Chiyo-sama, I need some training with my puppets. I think I'm ready for the third one. Could you give it to me sometime soon?", Kankuro had stored the bag with herbs away.

"I'll hand it over as soon as I'm done explaining here. You can wait outside, it won't take long... ", the woman moved her hand, indicating him to leave, '_He can be really annoying... That little rascal..._ '

"Yeah, yeah... Just don't keep me waiting for half an hour again... ", he left the greenhouse and closed the door behind him.

"Bara... ", Chiyo turned to her employee.

"Yes?", the girl smiled.

"Do you love Gaara?", the woman's face was gravely concerned.

The smile disappeared from Bara's lips. Her heart started racing, heat rising to her cheeks. The woman in front of her had seen right through her, it made no sense to deny it: "I do... I love him... Please don't tell anybody... "

"That must stop - IMMEDIATELY. He is dangerous!", Chiyo had created this monster. It was her responsibility to take care he wouldn't do anything bad.

"He is not dangerous... He is a good person, I know it. I will surely not stop loving him!", the girl couldn't believe what the old woman was saying.

"He is a monster. Maybe he has learned to control it better than before, but one day it will break out and it will crush whatever is in it's way", the woman was persistent.

"Gaara is NO monster. He might be a host, but he is surely NO monster! For god's sake, he is the Kazekage! He protects Suna! What do you know about Shukaku anyway?!", Bara had to defend him.

"I sealed the demon into him. I did that on his father's orders... I was the one to create the monster... ", Chiyo suddenly spilled her secret, "I managed to bind the demon to him, but I know that this won't last forever. The seal is incorrect, that's why he can't sleep without the demon taking him over. One day it will take him over completely. He won't be himself anymore. There are orders that he will be killed as soon as that should happen. And believe me, child. They have only let him become Kazekage to have better control of him. He is nothing more than a mere weapon in the hands of the high council... Forgive me... I couldn't prevent it... And I don't know how to fix the seal... ", the woman was unable to lie to this girl.

Bara sank to her knees, tears staining her face. This couldn't be true... This had to be a bad dream! It just had to be! He didn't deserve that! But then again, why should Chiyo lie? Only to hurt her? Surely not... The white haired girl felt the need to defend him: "Gaara is no weapon... He is a person that has feelings... Maybe he doesn't have much of them... Maybe he is not the type to show them... But he has feelings! Those feelings lead him to become Kazekage. He felt the need to protect Suna and it's citizens. It was his decision to do it... ", the girl bit her lip, "I have feelings too. Feelings for him. Strong feelings... And I made a decision... "

The old woman watched surprised how the girl got back to her feet, wiping away her tears. She hadn't expected that Bara would cope with all of this so soon: "What decision?"

"I want to protect him. I will find a way to repair the seal. I will prevent that the demon inside of him will gain control of him. That way I can protect him from getting killed. His death is the last thing I want to see in my life! He has suffered enough... ", a sad smile was on the girl's face, "I will become strong... For him... "

Chiyo shuddered. In all her life, she had NEVER seen a display of such a great and pure love. This girl was ready to sacrifice everything for the person she loved. She would most probably die for him if it was necessary. And she didn't even know if he loved her, or even was able to feel love.

Bara suddenly hugged the woman: "Thank you for telling me... I appreciate that you have told me the truth... I forgive you... And you should forgive yourself too... ", she let go again, "I need your help. I know that I can't tell him this secret. I know him... It wouldn't change his mind, nor his determination. He would keep on being the Kazekage and protecting the city until he would die."

"My help? How am I supposed to help you?", Chiyo didn't know what to do.

"I don't know exactly yet, but help me, please... I will find a way to repair the seal! How long does he have before the demon will take over?", the girl's face looked determined.

"A year or two from now... I'm not sure... Maybe more, maybe less... But what do you think you can do? You're not even a shinobi... ", the woman doubted that this girl could help Gaara.

"Then I shall become a shinobi! Train me! I know I'm too old for the academy, but you could train me, right? Everyday I will come to the shop and work until the evening! The money surely will be useful. Whenever there are no customers you can teach me theory. In the evening you can teach me how to fight! I am ready to stand up for everything I love. Give me a chance! Help me!", Bara was determined to not give up and accept everything. This time she would protect the person she loved. This time she would be the one to stay and fight! She felt like she had run away for all her life and this was about to end NOW. She wouldn't just stay and watch Gaara's slow decay. He was much too important to her.

Chiyo was baffled. Such determination... Such mental strength... The way and speed with wich she had comprehended every drop of information she had... The old woman couldn't deny that the girl had potential. Maybe she should give her a chance to prove herself. She could be talented, but that would stay an unanswered question for now. On the other side she felt guilty for what she had done fifteen years ago. If Bara was so determined, she wouldn't stand in her way: "Don't believe I will go easy on you just because you have no experience, you understand that?"

The white haired girl hugged Chiyo again: "THANK YOU! I will give my best!"

"Just go home now. I want see you tomorrow at eight. Don't be late", the woman opened the door to the greenhouse.

Outside was Kankuro, sitting on the ground, working on a puppet: "You two finally done? I've waited forever...", he sounded annoyed.

"Don't be so insolent boy, you really have no manners do you? Do you want me to teach you some?", the woman gave him a glare.

The boy jumped up and the puppet disappeared in a puff off smoke: "**NO!!!** - I mean no, Chiyo-sama... ", his face reminded the white haired girl of a scared puppy.

Bara giggled: "I'll be gone now. Bye Kankuro and see you tomorrow Chiyo", she waved her hand and left.

"Oi, Kankuro", the old woman slowly walked away, the boy following her.

"Yes Chiyo-sama?", he gulped.

"Do you have any missions the next time?", she was amused from the sound of his throat.

"No... Not really... Why?", he felt uncomfortable...

* * *

Some time later Bara sat together with the Kazekage at the table in the living room, eating.

"Is something wrong with you?", Gaara was the one to talk.

The white haired girl blushed: "Why do you ask?... "

"You look upset. Usually you talk more and smile", his insides crunched up. Did she remember something from yesterday?

"I was just thinking about something... ", she was sad for she knew that something bad could happen to her beloved. But she couldn't tell him. If he knew what she intended to do he would probably try to stop her because it might be dangerous. Bara knew that he didn't want to see anybody risk his life for him: "I got a job in a flower shop... I was just wondering if you'd be fine when I'm not around to cook you something. And I thought of leaving you something, but I guess Temari can take care of that... ", it was true, but it surely wasn't the issue.

The boy eyed her. Somehow he felt that something wasn't right: "Are you really okay?"

"Hm... No... I'm not very hungry... And I feel tired... ", she had barely touched the food, "I'll put this away and I think I'll go to sleep early today... Don't mind me... ", the girl stood up and took her dish to the kitchen.

A few seconds later Gaara followed her. In front of the kitchen he stopped. She was crying, the sound of it piercing right through his chest. Now he was sure that she remembered. "Please don't cry... ", he entered the kitchen, his eyes glued to her figure. He wanted to comfort her... But how?

Startled she turned to him, no word leaving her lips.

"It was my fault... I should have imprisoned that man earlier, then he wouldn't have... ", he clenched his fists, the thought of it made him angry, "... molested you... "

Somebody had molested her? Was that was had happened to her last evening? A sting of pain went through her head as she concentrated on that thought. The memories came back to her mind. She remembered the assault and Gaara protecting her. And know she knew why she didn't remember earlier. She had been to the library to burn those pages, she had wanted to forget that event for a while...

"Forgive me... ", the Kazekage had walked up to her and stared into her eyes. He wanted to be near her so badly...

Bara focused on calming herself from the memories and the information about Gaara's seal. "I'm okay... Don't worry about me... ", her voice was drowned from her sobs.

"You are not okay... If you were okay, you wouldn't be crying... ", gently he wiped away a tear from her face, "You don't have to handle everything on your own... You are not alone... Let me help you... ", his fingers twitched. He was so close to her and at the same time so distant. He just wished she would stop crying.

"You lied... Why?... ", her hands clasped to her face.

"Because I saw this happening... I didn't want to remind you... ", he felt so guilty. It was his fault that she was crying. He just couldn't stand it any longer. He reminded himself of their last evening together. She had asked him for a hug. Maybe that would comfort her... And maybe he would receive his answer... He pulled her into a tight hug, his arms protecting her.

She sobbed into his chest, letting the feelings she had caged up out. Her nearly rapes, the loss of her family, Chiyo's secret... She felt so good that she returned his hug. The girl cried out her heart and soul. All the mental pain she had had was washed away from her. His hug was comforting her endlessly. Soon her tears ceased and were replaced by a soft smile. She felt better than ever, like she could do everything she wanted. Now she knew that she could save him. Whatever lay ahead of her way, she would protect him from loosing his mind and body to the demon. She even felt ready to confess, or at least give it a try.

"Gaara?", shyly she asked.

"Yes?", he felt relieved that she had stopped crying.

"You can let go now, I'm fine again. This time really", she smiled, a blush adorning her face.

The boy pressed her body a last time to his before letting her go: "You're smiling again... "

"Yeah... I really needed that hug... ", shyly she gave him a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you... ", she smiled happily.

"Why?", the question burst through his lips.

"Huh?", confused she looked at him.

"Why did you kiss me?", he wanted to know it badly.

"Didn't you like it? I thought you were okay if I kissed your cheek... ", she blushed, he hadn't complained until now.

"I do like it, but I meant something else. I meant yesterday, before you fell asleep... ", unconsciously he took a step closer to her.

"I-I kissed you on the cheek yesterday?", she took a step backwards, her back meeting a wall.

"No... ", he moved closer to her.

Bara gulped, her face blushing madly. Hadn't that been a dream of hers?! There was no way they could have done THAT together. She surely would have noticed that. But what exactly had been part of her dream and what had been reality?! "Erm... I-I can't remember what you are talking about... Mind explaining it to me?", she laughed awkwardly, obviously nervous.

Gaara placed his hands on the wall next to her shoulders, cutting off her escape route. The urge in him was taking over his mind. "I'll just show you... ", his face neared hers. Maybe it was wrong of him to force her to this. But since she didn't move an inch it looked like she'd be fine with it.

Bara's heart started a race, pumping massive amounts of blood to her face. Was he really going to kiss her now? This couldn't be true. This was a dream, that she was sure of. She closed her eyes and froze where she was...

* * *

**Well, well... Is he going to kiss her, or is he not going to kiss her – That my friends is the question! The answer to this question shall be brought to you next time! HAR HAR**

**Sorry, but I have to keep you curious, right? ^^ And this chapter was actually getting quite long...**

**See it from the sunny side: You can anticipate until the next chapter is out. I'll do my best to provide it as soon as possible – PROMISE ;D**

**I wonder what you guys think will happen ^^ Please leave a review containing your guess. I'm all to curious to know.**

**By the way: I will add a little sneak preview to every chapter from now on, so have fun with it =P**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Kankuro: Oi, old hag, why am I here again? _bored_**

**Chiyo: If you keep calling me like that, you'll regret it... _grumpy_**

**Bara: Be nice you two! Both of you should respect each other._ trying to save situation_**

**Kankuro: Sorry, Chiyo-sama _scratches back of head, blushing_**


	16. Protection

White Rose

**Woah, I'm all tired from lack of sleep, but still I managed to bring you chapter16!!! Phew... glad this one's over now... I'll start the next one tomorrow since I'd like to get some more sleep today ^^**

**Oh well... This chapter might not have so much action, but it's content is important, just for you to know...**

**Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, hieikillua, Animestar001 and aquamarine-acaia (maybe not the nicest review, but I thought it was funny ^^ )**

**Some more thanks goes to aquamarine-acaia, Moonlight Chaos and dedichan for story altering this piece of mine**

**Next thank you goes to Moonlight Chaos and Star Lynn Kyzar for the faves – yay ^^**

**If I should have gotten something wrong with the thank you, or I forgot somebody, just leave me a note and I'll fix it =)**

**900 Hits hooray!**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Protection

Air moved through Gaara's lungs. He enjoyed the sweet scent of the girl in front of him. Bara had told him that she was working in a flower shop. Was that why she smelled so delightful? He didn't care. He wanted something else. His eyes roamed over the girl's being. She had frozen in front of him, much to his liking. This way he could do with her whatever he wanted... And somehow he felt like doing a lot...

Unknown cravings had entered his being. A low purr like sound echoed through the back of his head. For one second he wondered if Shukaku was finally coming back, but he pushed that thought away quickly. His body neared her slowly, his lips on their way to kiss her. Gaara could hardly restrain himself. He decided that he wouldn't just steal her a kiss. He wanted more... Much more... Amused growling went through his head, it seemed like laughing or chuckling... Mere seconds separated him from her...

_**STOP!**_, Shukaku yelled, interrupting the boy's movement before he could have touched her,

- +_No... Continue... Ravish her... Molest her body.._.+, a new voice had awakened in his head,

- _**Don't give into it! You will only hurt her if you do!**__ And you don't want to do that..._ ,

- +_**Do it!!+**_, this new voice sounded very aggressive,

- '_**What the fuck is going on here?!**_', he was confused,

- _Explanation later, don't obey the feeling you have now! Push it away! __**It's not yours!**_,

- '_**What are you talking?!**_',

- +_**TAKE HER!**_+,

- '_**FUCK OFF!!!**_', Gaara somehow managed to get rid of this second voice, it disappeared.

While this scenario had taken place in his thoughts only a minute had passed. The boy was still close to Bara. The strange cravings had gone away just like the voice, but the urge to kiss her remained... She looked like she felt a bit uncomfortable. Was she afraid of him? Would he have really hurt her if he had given into those cravings?... Probably she wouldn't have wanted anything of what he had desired a moment ago... The Kazekage realized that he would have sunken to Okku's level and would have raped her if Shukaku hadn't stopped him... Maybe even worse... At least he would have betrayed her trust in him. It would have broken her, he knew it...

If Gaara wanted to protect her, he would have to know exactly what had happened to him. For that brief moment he hadn't been himself anymore, he could tell. There was a chance that it could happen again. A chance that he wouldn't stop next time... He had to find out and make it stop. He truthfully wanted to be near her, kiss her... That was one of his wishes, his true self... But not if there was the risk of hurting her... Mentally OR physically...

Caring he cupped her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. Gaara would protect her at any cost.

A surprised squeal left her lips: "T-That's where I kissed you?", she really didn't remember kissing his forehead... Maybe she had been too weary to remember?

"Yes... ", his voice had an unknown tone.

"T-That w-was a th-thank you... I guess... ", her cheeks still held the deep blush.

The boy just nodded and slowly walked away: "I'll take care of the dishes today... You can go to sleep if you want to... I'm sure you're tired... I'll be in my office... as always... ", he took his food and left.

Bara was a bit relieved that he left her presence. She always felt so strange and fidgety when she was near him. But there was another feeling inside of her. Secretly she had wished for his kiss. Her heart was aching for him so badly, she could hardly take it. One day it would drive her crazy, she knew that. One day all her love would pour out of her, leaving her empty. That day she would loose all her strength and give up. She would just give up on telling him, locking away her heart, keeping it all a secret. She didn't want that to happen. She wanted to be strong and courageous enough to tell him straight to his face. But how long would she have time for this? If she couldn't repair his seal, he wouldn't be the one she loved anymore... And if she was weak, she would only loose focus...

An inaudible whisper left her lips: "I love you, Gaara... ", then she went to the bedroom to catch some rest.

Meanwhile the Kazekage had taken seat in his office, massaging his temples, '_Shukaku?..._ ',

- _Yes?..._ , the beast sounded concerned,

- '_Explanation time... Where have you been so long and what the hell happened back in the kitchen?_',

- _It's not that easy to explain, but I'll try..._ _A while ago I sensed that something was different. I left you alone so I could concentrate on what I had felt. It took me some time to finally understand that something must have happened to one of my siblings. I can't tell which one or where he or she was, but I lost the vital sign to it. We have this sort of connection where we can tell if we are fine or in trouble. I know that it can't be dead, but something is just not right... I am worried, but I can't change anything about it, so I accepted the fact. Whatever will happen to my sibling, it will be fine in the end, that I know.._. ,

- '_And this second voice in my head?_',

- Y_ou remember me telling you that the person who sealed me inside of you did a lousy job?_,

- '_Yes..._ ',

- _By the time I came back, I saw that dark chakra had leaked into you. You already know, that the seal is inactive while you sleep and my dark side takes over... I fear that the seal is slowly breaking, leaking it's contents into your consciousness... The cracks open and close, pushing more or less into your soul, tainting it. Back in the kitchen a part of you had been infected. You weren't exactly yourself...Your own dark side is being awakened by this... I had to try and stop you before you would have done something __you had regretted... And believe me... You would have regretted it badly... Luckily you managed to push it back... _,

- '_Are you trying to say that I will lose my body and soul to your dark chakra?_... ', the boy clenched his fists,

- _I am sorry... I can't help you with the seal... I can only try and stop you from doing something wrong if you should loose yourself..._ ,

- '_Is there nothing I can do?..._ ',

- _Since I don't know who sealed me, I can't tell what technique was used... Besides that, I don't know if anybody in this village has the power or the knowledge to do what is needed, except for Bara... But I'm sure you wouldn't want her to do it..._ ,

- '_Why not?_',

- Y_ou wouldn't want anybody you know do that... To seal a beast like me has it's cost. When sealed properly, it will kill the human using the technique. I guess that's why your seal is incomplete... Whoever sealed me, wanted to keep his life..._ ,

- '_So it's my life or their life?.._.',

- _I'm afraid yes..._ ,

- '_How long do I have?._.. ',

- _I'm not sure... I'd say a year... Maybe two... maybe less..._ ,

- '_I will have to make preparations..._ ',

- _And the girl?... I know that my dark side wants to use her... It wants to break free and she is the key to that success..._ ,

- '_I will avoid her as much as possible.._. ',

- _It won't make her happy... She likes being around you... After all you are friends... You will break her heart... _,

- '_Break her heart?... I wouldn't go that far... Still... I know what you mean... But it's for her own safety..._ ', he ran his hand through his hair,

- _I believe I should let you alone now... Give you some time to think... Don't rush your decisions... I'll go an keep an eye on the seal and examine it a bit..._ _Maybe I can find something._.. , Shukaku left.

The boy buried his face in his hands, leaving the food on his desk untouched. His appetite had left him a while ago. He felt cursed. First he had managed to become the Kazekage and then he found out that all he had worked for would become in vain in near future... And he found the girl from his past only to figure that he had to stay away from her... Hadn't he deserved a bit luck in his life? Or was this the punishment for what he had done as a child?... He just wanted to be free... Protect Suna, his siblings and her... Especially her... Bara had become very important to him. How he wished to be near her... But for her safety he would sacrifice this wish...

Time flew by as he thought about an alternative. Without hope. The night had fallen already and Bara was sleeping. Silently he walked to her nearly motionless body. He told himself that this would be the last time to touch her. It would be his last time to feel this wonderful feeling he felt when he was near her... Closing his eyes he kissed her. His fingertips caressed her cheek softly. His being was in bliss. He wished he wouldn't have to stop, but there was no other solution... He had to leave her now and that's what he did. With a last glance onto her peaceful face Gaara left...

* * *

A quite loud alarm noise went off, causing the white haired girl to jump scared out of the bed. She wasn't used to wake up so early anymore. Yawning she turned off the alarm and clothed herself with a shirt and shorts. After a quick toothbrushing in the bathroom she strolled to Gaara's office, a bright smile on her face: "Hey, Gaara wanna have some breakfast togeth... er... ", her smile had faded. The room was empty. Not even paperwork was left on the desk, '_I thought he would stay for a few days at home?.._. '

Saddened she went into the kitchen and ate breakfast alone. Probably she would see him again in the evening. Usually he didn't like staying away from home too long. As long as she would see him again, she would be happy. Charged up she left the apartment to join her new sensei in the flower shop.

"Hello? Chiyo?", Bara had entered the building.

"You're punctual, that's good... Your schedule for today", the woman walked up to the white haired girl and handed her a piece of paper.

"Basic knowledge, basic training... Diagnose element? Weapon selection?", the girl's face looked puzzled, "The list is quite long... "

"I've told you I won't go easy on you just because you have no experience... Now get to work while I start explaining you different things. Whenever a customer enters he shall be your first priority, got it?", the woman eyed her new apprentice.

"Of course, Chiyo-sama!", Bara bowed.

The old woman chuckled: "Somehow I like the sound of that... Now get going. We have no time to waste... "

"Yes!", the girl stored away the piece of paper and went directly to work while Chiyo taught her different things.

Whenever there was nothing to do Bara had to prove that she had remembered whatever her sensei had told her. Luckily for the white haired girl she had a really good memory, well, at least when she wasn't near Gaara. He just made her too nervous to keep much in mind. Sometimes she would have to try and demonstrate what she had just been told. Somehow it reminded her of the picture she had seen back in the ninja academy. Strangely enough Bara was more successful with all the tasks given than she had thought. Anyway she was determined to give at least 100% for everything she did.

Customers came and went. Since most of them were male the girl had started to wonder if women in Suna didn't like flowers. Maybe they just didn't want to buy themselves any. Probably they were always expecting the boys to get them nice flower presents. The girl shrugged that thought off. Customers meant money and money meant clothes and equipment for her. And damn, she REALLY needed some clothing. The white haired girl didn't have the time to wash her things every second day...

At noon the shop was closed for about an hour. Bara took the chance to fetch herself some clothing from the earned money. She wasn't very picky so it took her only fifteen minutes to find everything she needed. The money that had been left had been used to buy a few groceries. Since the shop had a kitchen she had decided to make lunch there.

"You came back quite early", the woman was just about to prepare some tea.

"Oi, Chiyo-sama. I just did a short shopping tour. I'll cook us some lunch. Would you please continue teaching me while I prepare the food?", Bara placed the groceries on the table.

"You are somewhat eager to become a shinobi... You really love him much, do you?", Chiyo sat down.

The girl blushed and smiled: "I liked him ever since we met... I think I've even loved him for very long now, I just didn't recognize my own feelings... ", she went to cut some vegetables.

"Young love... ", the woman sighed, "Let's just get on with the lessons, shall we?"

"Right! There is still much to learn!", Bara continued preparing lunch while her sensei taught her more...

Evening had reached Suna and Chiyo stood together with her student on a training ground. Bara had changed her clothing since she had bought something that was most likely better for training. Currently the girl was holding a piece of paper in her hand, concentrating some of her chakra into it. Strangely enough nothing happened.

"Shouldn't this paper burn or crackle or something?... ", Bara looked puzzled.

"It should do something... But in this case I think we should try something different... ", Chiyo gave her another piece of paper, "Try pushing your chakra in both papers at the same time... "

The girl did how she was told, but again nothing happened: "Are you sure this is how it works, Chiyo-sama?... "

"That is indeed strange... Take a third one and try again. Be sure that they touch each other... ", another piece of paper was handed over.

This time something happened. Within seconds the first paper split in two, the second became wet and the last one developed a rather big flame. Bara let the items fall to the ground, the sudden reaction had scared her: "What just happened? It nearly burned my fingers... "

"You really managed to surprise me more than once today... The elements within you are strongly distinct, especially fire... I can teach you wind techniques since it's one of your elements, but for fire and water you'll need a different mentor. Unfortunately don't know anyone in Suna who can teach you. This is wind country after all... ", Chiyo looked like she was thinking of something.

"Don't bother that Chiyo-sama. I found out that I had an affinity for these three elements long ago. Sometimes it just happened that fire came from my hands or water appeared from nowhere. I've learned to hide that since I was afraid of it... If I can hide it then I might also learn to use it by myself... ", the girl looked at her hands, '_And of course the help of my library..._ '

"It's not important for now anyway... We will start off with Tai-Jutsu. Afterwards we move on to Nin- and then to Gen-Jutsu. I've already taught you the theory about that. First thing we do is to find out what weapon suits you best... Or at least that was the idea... ", the woman looked annoyed.

"Is something wrong?", Bara scratched the back of her head.

"That damn Kankuro is late... ", Chiyo grumbled, "He was supposed to bring the crate with the training weapons... Did I give that little brat the puppet for nothing?... That kid has really no manners... "

The white haired girl giggled: "He'll grow up pretty soon I think... I mean he's sixteen or seventeen. My mother used to tell me that boys usually mature at about that age... Erm, mentally I mean... I'm sure he is physically... erm.. yeah... ", blushing she turned her eyes to the ground, '_**Different topic! Different topic!!!**_'

"I fear that Kankuro won't change anytime soon... ", the woman scoffed. She knew pretty well how tetchy and arrogant that boy could be. Chiyo sighed: "Then I guess we'll start with hand to hand combat... "

Bara was torn out of her thoughts, a relieving smile left her lips. "That's fine. I do have a little experience with non armed combat. A friend of mine showed me some moves for self protection", she smiled.

"We'll see if that's enough for your opponent... ", the woman raised a hand and the puppet that had lain next to her stood up, "This is a simple puppet that is used to teach puppeteers how to move it. It's robust and not that easy to break. This should work very well as your opponent... For now... "...

* * *

"Kankuro?!", a knock was heard from a door.

"Coming", the brunette grinned and walked to the entrance of his apartment. He opened his door: "Hey Temari, you gotta see my new toy!"

"You got a new puppet?", the blonde entered and eyed her brother.

"Yeah! Isn't that great?!", his grin went from one ear to the other, "Sanshouuo, it's a salamander."

"Not interested unless you can prove it's useful in combat", Temari looked slightly annoyed.

Kankuro's face dropped: "Woah! How can you even think it's not a great weapon?!", he walked to his new puppet and started polishing it, "She didn't mean it... Just ignore her... "

The kunoichi shook her head, '_I really wonder when he'll grow up mentally... He is such an idiot..._ ', shaking the stack of paper in her hand she walked up to him, "I need you to fill in these forms until tomorrow. You don't look like you'd have something important to do, so be kind and take care of it now."

The boy scoffed: "Actually I DO have important things to do. Chiyo gave me a task. I'm supposed to deliver her a crate at about 5:30 pm! And she said that she had some more things to do for me... "

"Today?", the girl looked confused.

"Yes, today!", the brunette was irritated.

"Kankuro... It's almost 8 pm... ", Temari crossed her arms in front of her chest.

The boy froze: "It is?!"

"You're late, idiot!", the girl grumbled, "Chiyo is so going to smack your ass."

"**Gotta go!!!**", Kankuro ran away like he had ants in his pants. The puppet had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Temari just shook her head, '_At least he's usable on missions... _'...

Fifteen minutes later Kankuro had almost reached the respective training ground. The crate with the training weapons was on the back of his new puppet, '_I wonder why that old bag of bones needs those anyway... I've never seen her use anything else than her puppets... _', somehow he was annoyed that he had to do something so trivial.

As he tried to figure out why the old woman would need the crate, a human came flying into his direction. It was Bara and her body bore itself into the sandy ground just a few feet away from him.

Immediately the boy called Karasu and Kuroari, preparing himself to defend this girl: "Are you okay, Bara?"

"Get out of the way Kankuro... ", the girl forced herself back to her feet.

"What are you talking about?!", he analyzed her status. She looked more or less fine apart from her nosebleed.

"I said... ", she ran up to him and used him as a pole to kick away her opponent with a swing, "Get out of the way... ", she landed back on her feet, facing him.

The boy looked surprised at her. Kankuro had been too distracted to see the training puppet moving towards him. He never thought of Bara to be a fighter. Somehow it embarrassed him that she had kicked the puppet away from him. She, obviously a beginner, had protected him, a Jonin...

With a smirk she wiped away the blood from her nose: "It was nice using you as a pole, but this is my fight. Get to Chiyo before she chops you into pieces", she giggled shortly and gave him a wink before she ran to where her opponent had flown.

"How do you know about... ?", the girl was gone before he could have finished the sentence. He didn't understand what was going on. It took him a few minutes to find Chiyo. She was controlling the puppet that the white haired girl was fighting. After storing crow and ant away he walked up to the woman, the salamander following him with the crate: "Oi, old haa... I mean... Oi, Chiyo-sama. What's going on here?", he looked confused.

"You are late, Kankuro... ", she sounded annoyed.

"Sorry... I was just so thrilled by Sanshouuo... It's a really great puppet... I guess I forgot the time... ", he scratched the back of his head.

Chiyo seemed to ignore the boy: "**Bara, stop! You've had enough for today... Come here...** "

The girl tried to dodge an attack and fell to the ground while the puppet retreated to it's owner: "**Yes, Chiyo-sama...** "

"Chiyo-sama?! Why is she calling you that? And why is she fighting your dummy?", Kankuro had absolutely no idea. Chiyo slapped the back of Kankuro's head: "**What was that for?!**"

"It is said that a hit on the head helps thinking... Obviously you need some intelligence beat into you, brat... ", the woman gave him a glare.

"**I am not stupid you old hag!!!**", he rubbed the bruise.

"Please be nice you two... We should respect each other... ", Bara had reached the scene, a shy smile on her lips.

"Erm... Okay... ", the boy blushed a bit, he was still embarrassed from her action a minute ago, "May I know now what's going on here?"

"Bara is my new student. I am teaching her how to protect herself... ", Chiyo handed the girl a paper handkerchief. Both of them had decided that it was better if Gaara didn't know what they were doing there exactly. In order to keep it that way they had to keep Kankuro and everybody else on simple information.

"I understand... I think... ", he watched Bara.

"Thank you, Chiyo-sama", the white haired girl wiped away a rest of blood from her face, "Have I improved?"

"Next time we'll focus on dodging. That's your weakest point until now, but I believe you will do good in future. You have talent... ", the old woman analyzed the girl.

Bara smiled: "I'm looking forward to it... I guess we can search now for a weapon that fits me?... "

"Indeed... ", the woman opened the crate, "I guess you don't want to kill your besieger while fighting, right?"

"I just want to protect myself... I don't want to injure anybody if it's avoidable... But some people just won't stop until they are unconscious... or dead... ", the girl's eyes glued to the ground, she knew what she was talking about.

"You are good hearted... Maybe too much... ", the woman took a wooden staff out of the crate, "This should work perfectly fine... ", she handed the weapon to the girl.

"What's this?... It's heavy... ", Bara looked curiously at the six feet long item in her hands.

"This is a Bo. It is used mostly for protective fighting techniques. I'll give you the details tomorrow, is that okay?", Chiyo closed the crate again.

"Yup", the girl smiled, "But what am I going to do with this staff now?"

"Take it with you, what else? Walking around with a wooden staff is not really noticeable. Wooden staffs are used for many purposed. If you'd look through the streets of the village you'd see that it's a quite common item. The Bo only differs in material... ", Chiyo explained, "Don't you worry. Just try to get used to the weight, that should be more of an issue... "

"And what about me?", Kankuro felt somewhat useless.

"You should have been here earlier, then you would have helped her with the training... ", the woman grumbled, "Bring the crate back and come back tomorrow. And try being on time, understand?"

"Of course, Chiyo-sama... ", he shuddered at the sound of her voice.

"How about we walk together back, Kankuro?", Bara smiled.

"Sure... ", he just shrugged.

"Then let's go", she gave him another smile.

Together they brought away the crate and walked to the more lively part of Suna. They shared a little conversation with different topics on their way.

"So why are you training? And how come Chiyo is your sensei?", Kankuro was just too curious.

"That's quite easy to explain... ", Bara narrowed her gaze, "You see... It's not easy for a girl all alone in this world... I've been assaulted so many times and I couldn't do anything about it... I just don't want that to happen again... Why I asked Chiyo?... I guess because I already knew her and I didn't want to go and bother you or Temari... or Gaara... ", she blushed a bit, "You guys have a lot to do usually, right?"

"Yeah... I guess you can say that... Since Gaara is Kazekage he always has a load of work... Sometimes I help him with some paperwork, Temari does too, but it never seems to get less...", the boy scratched the back of his head.

"Oh well... I guess our ways part here?", she smiled.

"Yeah... I need to go that way", he pointed his finger to a street behind him.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow?", she made a few steps into a different direction.

"Sure... See you tomorrow", he bid her good bye.

"Bye", she waved her hand and smiled before she walked away.

Kankuro couldn't help it, somehow he had stopped seeing her as a nuisance like he had done before...

A few minutes later Bara arrived at Gaara's apartment. Usually she would arrive earlier and make dinner for both of them, but she had already informed him that she had things to do until later. With a bright smile on her face she placed the staff in the bedroom and walked to his office. At this time of the day he always was in there, doing some additional paperwork and reading through documents. She couldn't wait to see him, she had longed for his presence the whole day.

Happily she opened the door to his office, it had been a crack open: "Hey, Gaara, I'm home! Ready for dinner?", looking through the room she found nothing, "Gaara?... ", saddened she walked into his office.

He really wasn't there... Only his scent was to find there, it reminded her of cinnamon. She loved it. Tempted she looked at a few files and folders in some of his cabinets, but she wouldn't touch them. Those were private, only for the Kazekage's eyes. Maybe he had something important to do and that was the reason he hadn't come home.

The girl sighed, '_I'll probably meet him tomorrow evening. I just hope everything is fine... _", she left the office...

* * *

**Damn... I got myself all sad writing this chapter... She won't see him again and she doesn't even know... Poor Bara... And Gaara... If no miracle is going to happen, he'll loose to the demon...**

**Let's hope everything will be okay...**

**This time I decided to not leave you with such a mean cliffy as last time. See? I can be nice too :P**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Bara: ASUMA!!! _glomp_**

**Asuma: O.o - Bara?!**

**Choji: _eating chips_**

**Ino: Uhm, Shikamaru?...**

**Shikamaru: Troublesome woman...**

**Temari: Mr. Dimwit...**

**_Electricity is in the air_...**


	17. Cheery meetings

White Rose

**I love weekends... I was really creative and productive this weekend, haha ^^**

**So here you have chapter 17, I hope you'll like it. There's a little ShikaTema in it ^^**

**Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, aquamarine-acaia and RevelationWave (I really appreciate honesty ^^ )**

**Another thank you goes to darkheart1992, RevelationWave and kakashi92 for the story alerts**

**The last but not least thank you goes to shikaboo, Saka Salrin and kakashi92 for the faves**

**1.100 Hits OMFG!!!!**

**SPOILERWARNING: From this chapter onward I will mention some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Cheery meetings

About four months had passed after Bara had become Chiyo's student. The girl had become strong in the meantime. Many books in her library were read and their content was learned. She had also found a way how to repair Gaara's seal, but she had a hard time learning that technique. It was the hardest she'd ever tried to do. Chiyo didn't know about that, but it was good that way. Soon she would master the needed technique and save the one she loved. The boy she hadn't seen for so long...

"Temari?", Bara was walking next to her friend, staring at the ground. It was about noon.

"Yeah?", the blonde took a glance to the saddened voice's owner.

"Did you find out why Gaara is so busy for months now? I've hardly seen him... I'm not allowed to enter his office... And we haven't talked one word... ", a pout lay on the white haired girl's face.

"I'm not sure... I know that the upcoming Chuunin exams keep him more or less busy, but not going home like you told me is somewhat strange... Generally he seems more crabby than usual... I wonder what's keeping him so busy, but you know I can't just ask him. It could be something confidential and stuff... ", Temari looked at some shops they were passing by.

"I know... I just really miss him... I mean, I'm happy when he leaves me notes, but it's just not the same when he's not around... I'd just like to be alone with him for a moment... talk... ", Bara blushed. The last four months she had not only been training hard under Chiyo's command. Secretly she had trained to confess her love. In the beginning it had been really awkward to see her clone in Gaara's appearance. Her clone hadn't felt any better either, but somehow it helped. Till now she had managed to stop stuttering. Unfortunately the question remained if she was able to tell it to the real person.

"I think he noticed", the blonde held a soft smile, "That's why he said you could come with me today. I guess he thought it might cheer you up a bit."

The white haired girl smiled shyly, a blush on her face: "You really think?... "

"Sure!", Temari grinned, "He hasn't forgotten you, just because he's all busy."

"Hopefully... ", Bara sighed, "Anyway... I took the time off you wanted me to, but you still haven't told me what we'll be doing. You're wrecking my nerves... "

The blonde giggled: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I've already told you the next exams will be soon. Since they will be held in Konoha, they are sending ambassadors to confirm and sign different things about the exams. Building up trustworthy relations and things like that... They'll be staying for about two days in Suna. I'll be taking care of them as long as they stay. Afterwards I'll go to Konoha together with them", both of them stopped not too far away from the village's gates.

"And how is this going to cheer me up?", the white haired girl looked puzzled.

"Guess who's coming... ", Temari pointed her finger to a bunch of people standing in front of the gates, talking about something, "I've informed them that you are fine."

Bara moved her eyes to see who her friend was talking about. Immediately she recognized the group of people. It was Asuma and his team, she couldn't believe it. They hadn't met for nearly a year now. With a bright grin the girl ran up to the group. Jumping up she hugged the person that had given her the chance of a life in Uwasa: "**ASUMAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!**", she could hardly be happier at this moment.

The man's cigarette fell to the ground, the assault had surprised him: "B-Bara?! Is that really you?"

"Of course, you silly... Hey Ino, Choji, Shikamaru... ", smiling she let him go and waved her hand towards the other three people.

"You look so different... ", Ino's face was right in front of Bara's.

Bara: "Might be the haircut... ", she laughed awkwardly.

Choji: "I'm hungry", he was munching chips.

Ino: "**How the hell can you be hungry?! You've been eating nonstop during our journey!!!**", the girl seemed somewhat annoyed.

"I can bring you to the inn, if you want me to. There are rooms prepared for you", Temari had reached the scene, the air slowly tensing up.

Ino: "Erm... Shikamaru?", she could nearly see the electricity in the air.

Shikamaru: "Troublesome woman... ", he looked annoyed.

Temari: "Mr. Dimwit... ", a smirk was on her face.

Bara: "Whatever you guys are going to do now, I'd like to kidnap Asuma for a while. May I?", she tried to loosen up the moment. Everybody knew that neither Temari nor Shikamaru would do the first step. Best thing in such moments was to change the topic.

Asuma: "And what exactly are you planing to do with me?", the man looked surprised.

Bara: "That's a secret. You'll just have to find out for yourself", she smiled.

Temari: "The formalities will be settled tomorrow, then you'll have a meeting with a part of the council. Until then you are free to do whatever you like. Bara and me are your escort as long as you four stay in Suna. Be sure not to go anywhere without one of us, you might get lost", the blonde smirked.

Bara: "EH?!", a confused look was on her face, Temari just gave her a wink, "Oh... yeah... What she said", she laughed awkwardly.

Asuma: "Fine. I'll go with Bara and join up later with you in the inn."

Bara: "**YEAH!**", she squealed in joy.

Choji: "As long as there's food... "

Ino: "I'd enjoy a shower... "

Shikamaru: "Fine for me... ", he placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

Temari: "Then let's go, shall we? Bara, just bring Asuma to the inn on main street, got it?"

Bara: "Yup! See you later then", she smiled and bid the group good bye.

"And now? Are we going to stay here and do nothing?", the man smiled and patted her head.

"No way! Come!", she took his hand and walked away, pulling him wherever she went to.

After a short stop at Gaara's apartment to fetch something and change clothes, Bara had brought Asuma to where she had wanted him to be.

"It looks quite empty here... Where are we?", the man looked around.

"This is one Suna's training grounds. One that's obviously not in use now... ", the girl grabbed something out of her backpack, her back facing him.

"Training ground? Why would you want to bring me to a place like this, kiddo?", his face was deeply confused.

"Fight. That's what places like these are for, right?", she tied something to her left, upper arm and pulled a metallic rod from her baggage.

"Fight?!", he couldn't believe what he had heard, "You sure are kidding, kiddo... "

"Nope. I want you to be my sparring partner for today", she turned to face him, "At least until I have to bring you to your team."

Now he saw what she had tied to her arm, it was a modified Suna headband: "You are a Sunagakure kunoichi?... ", he pointed at the item.

"You can say that... ", the headband had been a gift from Chiyo for her advances. For the better she wasn't signed in as a kunoichi in the Kazekage's documents, at least not yet. The headband was less a sign of her ninja rank and more a symbol for the step she had taken in her life. A symbol for her wish to protect her beloved.

"You surprised me... Are you going to participate in the Chunin exams?", somehow he was proud of her.

Bara shook her head: "Maybe next time, but that's unimportant anyway. Just don't tell anybody. I'm wearing this one just for you. I want to surprise the others on a special day", she smiled.

Asuma laughed: "Sure thing, kiddo. Now you said you wanted to train with me?"

"I thought you might be able to teach me something new", carefully she pushed chakra into the metallic rod in her hand. Immediately it expanded to six feet length. Since the white haired girl had earned quite an amount of money in the past months, she had bought herself this practical weapon. Easy to carry, small, robust and more... simply perfect...

"Interesting weapon you got there... I haven't seen a Bo in quite a while now and the last one I've seen was just used for theoretical explanations... ", curiously he eyed her.

"It just fits me... Now do you want to talk or fight?", she smirked and went into battle stance.

"I don't want to hurt you... ", he scratched the back of his head.

"Aw, come on... You know I'm a fast healer and besides that, you as a Jonin should be able to control your power up to such a point", without warning she pushed one ending of her weapon into his direction, aiming for his chest.

Deftly he dodged her attack and jumped away from her range: "You nearly caught me off guard there... "

Bara giggled: "Less talking, more training! I want to improve myself!", she was enthusiastic.

Asuma took out his weapons and changed to battle stance too: "It's on!"

He charged to attack her with his knuckle blades. Swiftly she escaped his blow by doing a little turn, deflecting his blades with her staff. Searching for a weak point Bara dodged and deflected every attack. He was just playing, she knew, but she wanted it to be more serious. Maybe she had to prove him that she was capable of more?

For a second she concentrated her energy before she jumped out of his range. While he tried to make up the distance between them she rammed her staff into the ground. A rather big wave of water erupted from the ground, rolling straight to Asuma. He managed to not get caught by the force of the flowing water, but he still got quite wet.

"That one's new!", he panted for air.

"It's not done yet... ", Bara pointed at his feet.

His eyes quickly moved to said body part. He was covered in ice up to his knees: "SHIT!", he forced more chakra into one of his blades and broke a part of the ice with it.

Before he could free himself completely from this grasp he felt Bara's staff hitting him. She had attacked four of his nerve knots, those that controlled his limbs. Unable to help himself he sunk to his knees, giving the girl a look of disbelief.

"Stop playing with me Asuma. You've underestimated me and lost", she walked up to him, put her staff on the ground and lay her hands on the ice, making it melt away.

"Heh... I really underestimated you... I never knew there was so much water in Suna that someone could use such a strong Suiton jutsu... ", he knew that it wasn't possible to use every water technique without real water around.

"There isn't actually... That was just a nice trick of mine, but I'll surely not tell you how I did that", she smiled and opened his vest, "I'll get you out of that lock I made you. It's easier to make you immobile though", she giggled and pushed his Chunin vest aside.

"You're more advanced than I thought you could ever get in such a short time. How long are you in Suna again? Less than five months, right?", he watched her searching for something through his shirt.

"Found it... ", a low snap came from his shoulder, "You should be able to move that arm again, try it... "

He raised his left arm: "Working. You unexpectedly knocked me out... "

Bara searched for the next point to unlock his nerves: "My sensei said mostly the same things while we trained. She said I am talented, but I believe I'm just ambitious... You know, training a lot, reading a lot of books... Got it... Try the other arm... "

Asuma moved his right arm: "Ambitious, huh?... And what reason do you have to be so ambitious?"

She placed her hands on his knees, searching for the next knot: "I want to protect... Me... My friends... The one's I love... But on the other side I don't want to kill when I have to protect. That's why I specialized defensive techniques... "

"That sounds just like the little girl I found once a few years ago, on an evening, next to a river... You really haven't changed at all... Well, besides your looks maybe. You really have grown and I must say that you'll be a beautiful woman the day you'll be grown up", he smiled. He couldn't be anything else than proud now.

Bara blushed, she wasn't used to getting compliments like this: "Stop talking nonsense... I'm just me and that's what I'll be for my whole life. Maybe I'll change a bit, but my heart will stay the same... At least that's what I wish for... Try to wiggle your toes... "

"Working. Can I stand up now?", she nodded and he stood up.

"Ready for a second fight? This time without that silly playing?", she stood up and smiled, the staff back in her hand.

The man laughed: "Sure thing, kiddo. I won't go easy on you this time."

"Then let's get this on!", the girl changed back to battle stance...

* * *

"What is Mr. Dimwit doing all alone here? Shouldn't you be with your teammates?", Temari smirked. She was standing in front of his room, her back leaning against the wall.

"Troublesome woman... ", Shikamaru grumbled, "I wanted to go out, get some fresh air... "

"You want to go alone?", she closed her eyes.

The boy pouted, a slight blush creeping to his face. He'd surely not ask her, no way. But he had to take her with him to not get lost between the streets. Everything in Sunagakure looked the same for him: "I don't care... "

"I guess I'll better come with you, before you never come back", she left the wall and took a step to him.

"Sounds almost like you'd care about me... ", a smirk crept to Shikamaru's lips.

Caught. Temari pouted, she would never admit that it even could be true: "If Mr. Dimwit gets lost, people will have to search for you. That would just waste our time. Don't forget that we'll be doing the Chunin exams together!", she poked his chest.

Both of them started to glare at each other. After a few minutes they averted their gazes and blushed slightly.

Shikamaru was the first to talk: "Let's just go... I need fresh air... "

Temari smiled before she turned to face him: "Any place you would like to see?"

"Anywhere is fine, I just need a little walk... Maybe watching the sky... ", he scratched the back of his head.

"I think I know the right place for you", she walked away, the boy following her.

By the time both of them had reached the foyer they found Asuma and Bara. The man looked a bit tired, the girl had a big smile on her face: "Hey Temari, Shikamaru", she waved her hand.

"What exactly have you two been doing? You've been gone for over an hour... ", the blonde wondered.

"We were just playing a bit together, right Asuma?", Bara seemed very happy.

"Yeah... ", the man yawned, "I could use a little nap now... "

"I'll bring you to your room", the white haired girl giggled and turned to Temari and Shikamaru, "We should do something together this evening. Enjoy some time before you have to get to work maybe?"

"We could go to a restaurant, have dinner together. What do you guys think?", the blonde looked at the two males.

"I'm in", Asuma grinned.

"Fine... I bet Choji won't say no, but we'll have to ask Ino", the black haired boy grumbled.

"I'll go and ask. Maybe I can get Kankuro to come too, he should be back from his last mission by now... And maybe... ", Bara looked absent to the ground for a moment, but then she shook her head, "Let's just get you into your room Asuma", she left, pulling the man with her.

Temari gave her a friend a sympathetic look. She knew that Gaara's absence was slowly killing the white haired girl. On the outside she was mostly cheery and happy, but every day he wasn't near her it had become more of a lie. The blonde was relieved that Asuma's presence had given her friend some of her happiness back.

"Let's go... ", Shikamaru grabbed the kunoichi's wrist and pulled her outside.

Startled Temari let her feet follow this movement, blushing a bit.

Meanwhile Bara and Asuma had reached the room he would stay in. It was rather an apartment with four rooms, bathroom and living room than a standard bed an bathroom thing. The girl opened the door and found Choji sitting in the living room, eating, as nearly always: "Oi, Choji! I brought you your sensei back", giggling she pushed the man inside. Then she entered.

"Which room is mine? I need a nap... ", Asuma yawned again.

"That one", the brunette pointed his finger at a door.

"Thanks... ", the man walked away and disappeared in his room.

"Choji, would you like to go to a restaurant this evening? Asuma and Shikamaru already agreed on going", Bara smiled.

"Sure. If you're going to ask Ino, she's in that room", he pointed to a different door.

"Great", the white haired girl walked to that door and knocked, "Ino? Can I come in?"

The door opened and the blue eyed blonde pushed her head through the opening, looking annoyed: "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

"Do you want to go to a restaurant this evening? Everybody else is coming too", the white haired girl had always been a bit intimidated by this kunoichi. Ino seemed so strong and stubborn... Things Bara seemed to lack in her own opinion.

"Sounds nice", the blue eyed girl smiled, "When are we going?"

"Not sure yet, but Temari and I will pick you up, is that fine?", the white haired girl smiled.

"That's okay. See you later then, bye", Ino bid the girl good bye and closed the door again.

"Erm... See you later... ", Bara bid Choji good bye before heading for Kankuro's apartment.

A few minutes later she had arrived in front of his door and knocked: "Oi, Kankuro? You home?"

Some noise was heard from inside before the door was opened. A sleepy brunette stood there, scratching the back of his head: "Yeah?... ", he wasn't wearing his usual makeup, a rather rare sight. But he looked really handsome.

"You okay? You look erm... tired... ", Bara analyzed him.

"Just got out of bed... few minutes ago... need coffee... ", he nearly fell asleep while standing in the door.

"Oh dear... ", she pushed him inside and entered his apartment, "I'll make you coffee, okay? Just get yourself somehow into the kitchen and everything will be fine", she closed and locked the door to his apartment.

Kankuro slowly walked, or rather staggered into his kitchen. Bara took care that he wouldn't hurt himself on the way there. As they arrived he sat down, trying his best to stay awake. The girl took care that his coffee would be strong, just how he liked it. Luckily she already knew where he stored everything in his kitchen since his birthday about three weeks ago.

"There you go", she placed the cup with steaming coffee under his nose and sat down, "Drink."

The boy took a sip of the bitter liquid, making him slowly wake up: "Thanks... "

"Your welcome... You came home late, right?", she smiled.

"Hmhm... ", Kankuro confirmed her question. It took him some minutes before he could think straight: "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to ask you, if you wanted to go to a restaurant this evening?", again she smiled.

The boy blushed and coughed, nearly dropping the cup from his hand. Him and her ALONE?! He couldn't imagine that. Yeah, sure, he liked her. It was really hard to not like her. In the past months whenever they had spent time together he had grown to like her more and more. He had changed his attitude from an immature child to a man fitting his age... And the reason was her. They had talked a lot in their breaks, about many different things...

Kankuro had always hated his father. And he hated it that many people told him that they looked so similar. He had been afraid that he would become just like his father when he grew up one day. He had wanted to stay a child to avoid that. But at a point he had realized that is was silly to think that something like that could ever happen. He owed that insight to Bara. She had listened to whatever he had had to say. And whatever she had said, it had given him hope.

Yes, he liked her. He liked her a lot... But he knew that she didn't feel the same: "Just you and me?"

"Oops, I forgot to mention who's coming. Let's see... ", she took her fingers to help counting, "Asuma, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Temari and me. At least until now. Wanna join in?"

Just as he had thought: "And Gaara? Have you asked him?"

The girl blushed: "I don't think I actually have to ask... He's all busy... "

Damn, his brother sure was a lucky devil to have her love. Kankuro knew that she loved him. One evening he had seen and heard her confess to her clone that was looking like Gaara. She hadn't noticed him. So much made sense after he found out. He wondered when she would really confess to Gaara. And he wanted to know if his brother would return Bara's feelings.

One thing he knew for sure. If his brother would reject her, Kankuro would take his chance on the girl. If Gaara returned her feelings, he would be happy for both of them. But that day seemed far, far away. Bara was always so shy when the Kazekage was near. The brunette couldn't imagine that she would overcome her shyness in near future...

"I'll come with you guys. Though I'm not sure if Temari and that pineapple head will get along... ", he scratched the back of his head.

Bara giggled: "Yeah... But I think it won't be THAT bad. They used to be worse a year ago, remember?"

Kankuro's face dropped: "Damn... Did you have to remind me... ", he shuddered.

The white haired girl laughed: "Sorry... I'll pick you up later and then we'll get the others, okay?"

"Fine for me... ", he took a sip of coffee.

"Then I'll leave you alone with your coffee for now", she giggled and stood up.

"Hmhm... ", he put the cup on the kitchen table, "I'll let you out", he stood up and accompanied her out of his apartment. They bid each other good bye and the girl left...

* * *

Three hours later a cheery group of people was seen in one of the more popular restaurants in Sunagakure. Nice conversations and laughter was heard from their table. Sometimes the sound would die off for a moment, but that didn't last long.

"Ey... Bara... Y-you should really, really trai thish stuff 'ere... I've nevor had shomething sooo gooood... ", Ino staggered on her seat, waving with a full bottle of date wine in her hand. Obviously she had had a drink too much.

"Err... I don't think that's such a good idea. I've never had alcohol before... ", the white haired girl waved her hands defensive in front of her.

"You havon't touched anotheng else than wator... Yo should rreally try, Bara!", the blue eyed girl rubbed her shoulder against said girl's upper arm.

Bara really regretted letting this girl sit next to her: "Ah, no, really... I don't want to try... "

"Ino, if Bara really doesn't want to have wine, then you should stop bugging her", Asuma tried to save the situation.

"Oh fine... ", the girl sat back properly on her seat.

The white haired girl gave Asuma a relieved look and formed a "thank you" with her lips.

The man gave her a wink and got back to his conversation with Kankuro.

Unfortunately Ino's mind was already made up, a sly grin creeping over her face. Suddenly she grabbed Bara, pinched her nose so she had to open her mouth and pressed the bottle against her lips. Asuma pulled the drunken girl away as soon as he realized what was happening. The noise coming from their table died off completely. Everybody watched the white haired girl that was currently coughing hard, curious of what would happen next.

Bara had been too startled to know what she had had to do. Instinctively she had swallowed a part of the liquid while the other part had poured over her chin, down her clothes. Her throat was burning like hell, she could hardly breathe. After she was done coughing she panted helplessly for air. Warmth spread through her body, blood rising to her face.

Asuma was the first to raise his voice again: "Oh shit... Are you okay kiddo?", he looked a bit concerned while Ino giggled.

The white haired girl started to giggle: "I'm dizzy... The world's turning in front of my eyes... ", she staggered a bit.

"This is bad... Looks like she can't take it... ", Temari handed Bara a glass of water, "Drink! Now!"

"Ooookaaaiiiieeee... ", the white haired girl drank the water, her mood was unbreakable good.

"Ino, you had definitely enough. We better bring you to your room. Same goes for Bara. She should be brought home", Asuma turned to a waiter, "Check please... "

Temari pushed another glass of water to her friend: "I'll bring you four to the inn. Kankuro, please bring Bara home, I'll come later to check on her."

"Sure... Just hurry up, okay?", the brunette eyed Bara, hoping that she would be fine.

As soon as everybody had paid their things they left. Ino had to lean on Shikamaru's and Choji's shoulders so she wouldn't get hurt. Bara became dozy and had to be carried away by Kankuro.

It took the brunette fifteen minutes to bring the white haired girl to Gaara's apartment. It was already very late and she had fallen asleep in his arms. Kankuro had a real hard time unlocking the door while holding the girl. He tried to wake her up, but she kept sleeping like nothing had happened.

"That damn Ino... ", he grumbled while entering the apartment, holding the girl bridal style.

After closing the door behind him he walked to the bedroom. There he found somebody standing in the door frame: "Gaara?"

The Kazekage turned to face his brother. The concern on his face was replaced by confusion, then slowly turning into... anger? Kankuro was confused, he hadn't seen anger or hatred in the eyes of his brother for years. Gaara glared at the brunette, killing intention in his eyes. Slowly he walked up to the two, reaching out a hand for his older brother's throat.

"Gaara?... You okay?... You seem different... ", Kankuro's heart raced, he was afraid. This wasn't his brother... At least not the one he knew...

Suddenly Bara started to squirm in the brunette's arms, almost like she could feel that something wasn't right. Dozy she half opened her eyes and looked at the Kazekage: "Gaara... ", she smiled before dozing off again.

Said boy stopped. His facial expression softened slowly, his hand retracting: "I had a long day... Excuse me... ", he ran his hand through his hair, "Got work to do... ", he turned and left.

Kankuro had turned to stone. He just stood there in front of the bedroom, the sleeping girl in arms. Gaara had left the apartment a while ago as Temari came to check on them.

"Kankuro? Why haven't you put Bara into the bed?", she walked up to her brother, "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost... "

The paled brunette came back to his senses: "Ah... It's nothing... I'm just starting to see things... I think I had too much alcohol myself... "...

* * *

**Uhoh... Looks like the demon's influence on Gaara has gotten stronger... I guess you are really curious to know what's going on in his head. One word – Chaos. But you'll see that for your own in one of the next chapters...**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Boy: Hi there...**

**Bara: Oi, it's you again.**

**Boy: You remember me?**

**Bara: You were my first customer and I saw you around here sometimes. Yoshitaka, right?**

**Yoshitaka: You even remembered my name, hehe... _blushing_**

**Bara: How can I help you?**

**Yoshitaka: Well... I was just wondering, if we could...**

**Bara: What?**

**Yoshitaka: You know... Err...**

**_Dark shadow appears, silence spreads_...**


	18. Foolish

White Rose

**This chapter was really hard work geez... I have to thank my boyfriend for helping me rewrite it. Now let's see...**

**Chapter 18 contains a whole lot of action and some drama, hehe ^^ I just hope you will like it. Even though my beta reader liked it very much, I'm kind of afraid you'll hate me for this chapter... O.o**

**Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992 and hieikillua**

**Thanks to ****ProfilingXCSIXMyXCareer **** for the story alert ^^**

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**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories_

* * *

Foolish

There he sat, in his office in the Kazekage building. The sun was shining into the room, lighting it with a soft yellowish tone. Nonetheless his mind was gloomy. Five days had passed since he had seen his brother holding Bara in his arms. Temari had left Sunagakure for the Chunin exams and Gaara was supposed to do paperwork concerning that topic, but he couldn't. All he could think about was the scene he had witnessed. He could almost smell the alcohol he had sensed that night...

The voice inside of his head wasn't helping at all. In the past months the helping and caring Shukaku had been replaced by a bloodthirsty, scheming demon. At least Gaara knew why... Shukaku had explained to him that his consciousness was made of two parts. One part contained all the good things of his personality while the other was the complete opposite. Something similar to the Ying and Yang thing. Unfortunately the demonic side had become very powerful between the centuries when the good side had been sleeping. The demonic Shukaku could easily push his other part out of Gaara's consciousness if he had leaked enough of it's content out of the seal.

Apparently a big part of the Yang was present in the Kazekage, +_When have you killed the last time?... I feel so hungry... I want blood..._ +,

- '_Shut up..._ ',

- +_Isn't anyone around? Kill... Anyone... just kill... _+,

- '_You are repeating yourself... _',

- +_If I do it often enough you'll obey, I know it... _+,

- '_I won't obey anything you'll say... You should know that by now.._. ',

- +_That's not true, we both know that... Every day the seal becomes weaker... Every day it gets harder for you to push me away... The day when you will follow my orders isn't far away anymore..._ +,

- '_I won't let you win!_', the boy was annoyed,

- +_I nearly won that night you saw Kankuro and Bara..._ +, the beast chuckled,

- '_Shut up!_', he clenched his fists,

- +_Did I just hit a sensitive spot?_+,

- '_I said, SHUT UP!_',

- +_I see... Want me to tell you what he had done to her if you hadn't been there?_+, the demon's voice became playful,

- '_**Shut up!**_',

- +_He would have screwed her on YOUR bed, making her scream his name and moan in pleasure... I really would have liked to see that. I bet she makes the sweetest of sounds when you touch her. She's SO innocent... And you know what they say about the quiet ones... _+, Shukaku mocked,

- '_**SHUT THE FUCK UP!**_', that had hit home.

The voice disappeared, leaving the boy angry and filled with hatred. Nobody was allowed to touch her. Nobody was allowed to take her innocence, stain her pureness. NOBODY. Gaara suddenly realized that he had left his chair and his fingernails had bore deep into his desk. Blood stained the cracks he had carved into the wooden material. He had to calm himself down. He had to calm himself before he actually went out to kill somebody. The demon really knew how to push his buttons. And he had pushed them for too long now... Slowly he relaxed his muscles, retracting his hands from the desk.

Pain... He felt pain in his fingertips. He looked at his bloody fingers, analyzing them. Coppery taste spread through his mouth as he licked his fingers. Pain... And blood was the proof for his physical pain... And the aching in his chest? What about that? He could feel pain there too, but there was no visual sign for it... What had his uncle told him when he was a child again? Mental pain? Pain that could only be healed by love?... Love... What was love anyway? He didn't know...

His siblings loved him. That was brotherly and sisterly love, again a different type of love... His friends, or rather his friend liked him. Their friendship was like a bit of the love he was searching for... But it was simply not enough... Gaara felt the need of more than just Bara's friendship... Did he yearn for her love? Was that slowly killing him? Driving him crazy?... He wasn't sure... How could he know how love felt?...

At least he knew that he cared for Bara. She was very important to him and that's why he wanted to protect her. Unfortunately that meant he had to stay away from her... Day after day it had become harder for him to not see her, not be near her... Sighing he reached out his hand for her imaginary picture, caressing her reddened cheek. A shy smile formed on her soft lips, the lips he longed to kiss for so long now... Her image disappeared, leaving him to his loneliness. Not being by her side was one thing, seeing her with somebody else was another... He hated it. He would probably kill whoever would try to come closer to her than he already was... He was angry. Angry about other guys approaching her. Angry about himself, because he wasn't with her... Either way it killed him not being by her side...

Oh well, for now he needed a medic to patch up his fingers. He would think about everything else afterwards. Too bad Temari wasn't there. She could have taken care of these small wounds...

Knocking was heard from the door: "Come in... ", the Kazekage sat back in his chair.

Kankuro entered the office, a stack of paper in his hands: "I brought you the documents you've asked for... ", the boy walked to his brother.

"You can leave them on my desk, thank you... ", Gaara remembered the demon's words. He could nearly see his brother and Bara in his own bedroom... He knew that Kankuro wasn't the person to do something like that, but just the idea of it drove him crazy.

The brunette placed the files on the table, but he didn't leave. He just stood there, waiting for something.

"You don't have to stay just because I haven't ordered you to go, you know that... ", the Kazekage eyed his brother.

"I wanted to talk... About that night... ", Kankuro seemed worried.

Maybe this was a good opportunity for Gaara to find out if there was something between his brother and the girl... As long as the demon was gone he could possibly restrain himself, if it was necessary: "Then let's talk... "

"You looked so angry that night, when I brought Bara home... I haven't seen you like that for years... That concerns me... ", the brunette was stern.

"Don't worry about it... It had been a really nerve wrecking day back then... That night I was on my edge... You see, I thought she was injured because of the reddish stains on her clothing... At first they looked like blood to me... I lost my nerves for a moment because I thought you had involved her into a fight. You know that I don't want you to involve civilians... For a moment I thought you had betrayed my trust... ", that was just part of the truth. The other part was his jealousy that had nearly killed his brother that night.

"I understand... I brought Bara home alone because she was drunk and Temari had to take care of the ambassadors... You see, Bara and I are friends and I'd take care of her without hesitation if we were in a fight, but I actually know that she can take care of herself when it comes to that matter", Kankuro was somewhat relieved.

"What do you mean by that?", Gaara was pleased to know that his brother and the girl were just friends, but what exactly was he talking about?

"You don't know? Chiyo taught her self-defense... ", the brunette wondered.

"Chiyo? Why her?", the Kazekage was confused, "She's not necessarily known for being nice... "

"Bara works for her in the flower shop. She told you, didn't she? That girl brought a lot of customers to that nearly dead place. It's quite popular since she's working there. I guess Bara asked Chiyo to help her because of all the guys that go there every day... But hey, who can blame them, right? Bara is just so nice and cute and attractive... Everybody likes her... You just feel like protecting and hugging her when she's near... Too bad she already likes someone, hehe... ", Kankuro had been babbling so much that it took him a moment to realize that his brother was gone, "Gaara?... Where'd he go?... Did I exaggerate too much?"...

* * *

Meanwhile Chiyo was in the shop, packing her bags: "I'll be at the greenhouses for the rest of the day, can you handle the shop alone?"

"I'll be okay, no worries. Why shouldn't I be fine anyway?", Bara smiled.

The woman pouted: "You can be really oblivious sometimes... ", Chiyo was the one who usually shooed away the guys that were DEEPLY interested in the girl, "I'll just get going... There will be no lessons this evening so we'll see us tomorrow... ", the woman left the shop, '_At least she can kick their asses if it gets necessary..._ '

"Bye Chiyo-sama", the girl waved her hand, standing in the door frame. Afterwards Bara disappeared in the building for a few minutes before she came back with a broom in her hand. Sweeping rests of withered flowers together she hummed a joyful tune.

"Erm... Hello?", a male voice called to her.

The white haired girl turned to the voice: "Oi, it's you again."

"You remember me?", the boy looked really surprised.

"You were my very first customer here. I've seen you sometimes around this place. Yoshitaka, right?", she had heard his friends call him like that quite often.

"Wow... You even remember my name... ", the boy blushed.

"How can I help you, Yoshitaka?", she put the broom to the side and smiled.

He became nervous: "Ah... You see... I was wondering if we could... Err... "

This guy was really funny: "What?", she giggled.

His face reddened even more, his frame tensed: "You know... You... And me... Like... "

"Want us to make another bouquet for your mum?", she tried to help him, but she had no clue what he wanted.

Yoshitaka took a deep breath before talking: "I want you to go on a daaaaiiiiiIIIII mean... ", suddenly he became pale, "I mean forget it. It's not important... I-I'll come another day... ", he gulped.

"Are you okay? You look scared... ", she wondered what was going on until she realized that he wasn't looking at her anymore. She could feel that somebody had walked up behind her.

"I'm perfectly fine!", he was extremely nervous, laughing awkwardly, "Greetings, Kazekage-sama... ", the boy bowed.

"Leave... ", Gaara's voice sounded chippy.

Bara blushed instantly as she heard his voice. Was it really him? She hadn't seen him for so long... Had he come to see her? The girl's heart started to race. Was this really true?... She couldn't turn to face him. She was afraid he'd vanish again if she did...

"Of course, Kazekage-sama... I have to go anyway... I forgot that I have work to do... ", Yoshitaka turned and walked away, his movements stiff as a plank.

Gaara's lips were close to her ear, she could feel his breath: "I need to talk to you Bara... now... ", voice was low and velvety.

Goosebumps built everywhere on her skin. His voice... Just like in the dream she had had... It felt so unreal... But on the other side so good... His hand grabbed hers, but something felt odd as they touched. Her eyes moved down, curious of what she felt.

"You're bleeding!", she turned to him and saw his other hand too, "What happened?! And where is your gourd?", she was worried about him. His sand usually protected him from every injury. Something was not right...

"It's not important... Please... I need to talk to you... Alone... ", a strange tone was in his voice.

"I'll take care of this and in the meantime we can talk, okay? Let's get inside... ", carefully she took his hand and pulled him into the private part of the shop, locking the doors behind them. He just followed, his eyes never leaving her. "Come here... ", she wanted to open a cupboard, but he stopped her, dragging her back to him, "Is something wrong?", she blushed.

"Where's Chiyo?... ", his eyes bore into hers, touching her soul. She felt so weak all of a sudden. His eyes seemed to absorb her thoughts...

Blushing she averted her gaze: "She's gone, we're alone... ", freeing herself from his grip she opened the cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit, "Let me take care of your fingers... "

Carefully she treated his wounds, patching them up, healing them. Silently Gaara had watched her doing, savoring every second of it. Every touch, every frown, every smile... The way she treated him, the way she looked at him from time to time, her blushing cheeks... Everything... He remembered the time they had spent together and he had to admit that she made him somehow... happy...

"I missed you... ", she was still treating his fingers.

He had missed her too. Probably much more than she could ever imagine. After he had decided to avoid her it didn't take him long to realize that he missed her. And how he had missed her... Secretly he had watched her sleeping when Shukaku hadn't been there. But he hadn't touched her... He just had felt the urge to do so. Every day a bit more... He could hardly take it... And the words that Kankuro had uttered... Just thinking about somebody else being near her, touching her... Gaara hadn't stayed to listen to the rest of it... He couldn't stand it anymore...

"I thought you wanted to talk?... ", she blushed again as their eyes met for a brief moment, "Not so talkative after all... ", she smiled, "I guess I know you long enough to know that it's fine this way... ", finally she was done with his wounds: "There you go... Feels better, right?"

"A bit... But... ", he stared at her, making her blush.

"Does it still hurt?... Want me to kiss it?", she giggled.

"Yes... ", his answer was simple and emotionless.

Bara blushed wildly. That had been just a joke, but if it would make him feel better she'd do it. After all it were just his fingers... Somehow he reminded her of a little child now. Helpless and innocent... Of course she knew that he wasn't innocent anymore. He had killed many people, but at the moment he was simply cute. Softly she kissed every finger: "Better now?", shyly she looked at him.

"Not yet... ", slowly he pulled away his hands and shifted his weight.

"I'm really sorry Gaara... I don't know how to-", she was interrupted in the middle of her sentence.

His lips had silenced her. His frame had pinned her against the next best wall. It had been impossible for him to resist her any longer. After such a long time separated from her, he wasn't able to contain himself anymore. He had given in. Letting his feelings take over his mind, just this one single time. He wanted to be close to her... As close as he could possibly get... He wished that there was not a single inch of air left between them... He wanted her... He wanted her badly...

Bara on the other side had lost all her power. Her knees were shaking, but his body pressed her against the wall, keeping her more or less on her feet. She hadn't expected anything like this. Not now and not in the future, but it actually happened. He was really kissing her and it felt so incredibly good... This was what she had wanted since that night when his soft lips had caressed her forehead... His closeness, his kiss, his touch... It felt like a dream... A wonderful dream... Closing her eyes she sighed lowly as their lips stopped touching. Her face was deeply red.

Gaara leaned his forehead against hers: "Forgive me... It came over me... I just couldn't resist... Forgive me... ", he made a step backwards, leaving the girl to gravity. He had enjoyed their kiss, but now he felt miserable for forcing her. Now she would most probably hate him for doing the same to her as that nuke-nin and Okku.

Bara slowly sank to her knees: "Huh?... ", she was too flustered to understand what he was talking about. Panting for air she collected her thoughts. A few seconds later she saw how he turned to the back door, ready to leave again. First he kissed her and now he wanted to leave her alone?! Alone AGAIN?! What was he thinking?! She couldn't let that happen! Not now... Not after what had happened... Not after what he had done... Gathering whatever mental and physical strength she had left she stood up.

By the time he had made his second step he could feel her arms wrapping around his chest. Desperately she pressed her body against his back, hoping that her weight would stop him. Her voice was weak: "Don't go... Please don't go... Don't leave me alone like you did in the past months!", she could feel tears building up in her eyes, "You can't leave after you just kissed me, you idiot!"

His movement stopped. His eyes widened in disbelief: "What?... "

"You heard me... ", she sniffed, "You're an idiot... You're an idiot if you leave me now... "

Gaara freed himself from her grip and turned to face her. He stared into her eyes, confusion on his face: "Why?", he couldn't believe what was happening. Hadn't he hurt her with his doing? He had been so sure that she'd hate him... But now? What was the reason for her reaction?

The girl hesitated. There would hardly be any better chance to confess to him, but her lips wouldn't move. Blushing she averted her gaze. In the end she was still too shy.

The boy grabbed her wrists, pulling her closer to him. Firmly he held her like that, afraid that she might flee: "Why?", his voice was soft. Was the truth so bad that she couldn't tell him?...

"Because... ", she bit her lip, "Because I WANT you to kiss me... ", it was the best she could give him at that moment.

"What?", confused he let her go.

"I want you to kiss me! Over and over again!", the words just blurted out of her mouth, "Please! Don't go back on what you did!", looking to the ground she waited for a reaction, tears staining her cheeks.

Gaara could hardly believe what she was saying. She wanted him to kiss her? Did this mean she wanted the same as him? Somehow it made sense. After all she had kissed him first... She was the one to awaken these wishes in him... Softly he tipped her chin so she would face him. She looked afraid, but it wasn't the fear he had thought he'd find in her eyes. Caring he wiped away some of her tears: "Don't cry... If you stop crying now, I'll promise you to do whatever you want... So please stop crying... I hate it when you cry... "

Blushing she nodded, wiping away her tears until they ceased: "S-Sorry... ", nervously she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back. What was she supposed to do now?! Thinking about what to do she spaced out.

The boy leaned his forehead against hers again, ripping her out of her thoughts: "What are you thinking about?... ", he just hoped she wouldn't change her mind.

Bara breathed in and opened her mouth but no sound came out of it. Realizing how close he was she blushed wildly, her heart skipping a few beats. Slowly she closed her mouth again. She was drowning in his endless, blue eyes... Sighing lowly she closed her eyes, savoring the moment: "D-Don't hesitate... please... d-do it... "

If she knew how much he had craved for this... Hungrily he captured her lips. Pleasing his urge. His mind freed from any guilt he had had before... Forgetting all his sorrow he gave into the overwhelming feeling of bliss... Was this love?... It must have been, because the aching in his chest disappeared like it had never been there in the first place...

Slowly he wrapped his arms around her frame, taking care that she wouldn't leave his side anymore. His fingertips traced their way up her spine to the back of her head, giving her goosebumps. Bara cringed involuntarily, biting her tongue: "Ouch... ", though she wanted it, she wasn't used to his touch.

"Did I hurt you?", Gaara looked confusedly at the girl.

She blushed: "N-No... I-I was just clumsy again and bit my tongue... I-I think it's bleeding a bit... ", carelessly she opened her mouth and outstretched her tongue, "Thee?", somehow the pain had made her forget the situation she was in.

By the time he saw the crimson liquid on her tongue, something inside of him snapped. The scent of her blood entered his nose together with the fragrance of her skin and body. Why was his nose suddenly so sensitive?And why was everything he could smell of her so... intoxicating?...

Tilting her head to the side she gave him a questioning look: "Is it bleeding ba-?!", again she had been interrupted by his kiss, but somehow it was different... Desperately he licked and nibbled her lips, begging for entrance to her mouth. Digging his fingers into her back he pressed her against him. It was uncomfortable and his sudden offensive scared her. Clasping her hands against his mouth she tried to stop him: "Gaara, please stop. This is going too fast... Please... ", her face was red like a tomato. Suddenly she could feel a sting of pain in her back and palm. The girl winced and retracted her hands immediately, a painful cry leaving her mouth. "You're hurting me! Let go! **Gaara! Please let go!**", freed from his grip Bara leaned against a wall, looking at him in disbelief.

"Shit!", the boy stumbled a few steps backwards, away from her. With one hand he held his head. He looked like he were in some sort of pain: "You have to go!"

"What?! WHY?! What's wrong with you?!", she was worried about him. Was he having some kind of disease maybe? Was it possibly her fault?! Carefully she reached out her hand for him, but retracted it as she saw that blood was coming from it. Looking closely at her palm she found a deep cut. When did she get that?! Could it be... ?

"**Leave!!**", he was fighting with himself, "**NOW!**"

She was afraid, but this wasn't the time to turn away from her beloved. Looking at him she analyzed his status. Claws had grown from his fingernails, fangs had replaced his canine teeth and one of his eyes wasn't blue anymore. This new, yellowish eye scared her the most about his sight. She could see the demon directly through it, trying to take over Gaara's body... The white haired girl knew why that was happening. It was her fault... But she was ready to take the responsibility and fix the problem she had caused...

"**RUN!!!**", his voice was demanding.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that... ", she held up her palm so he could see the bleeding wound, "I know you're there Shukaku... This is what you want, right? My blood... "

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!**", Gaara looked shocked, then his voice seemed to change, "You're smart. Yes, I want your blood. Are you going to give it to me voluntarily?"

"You can have as much as you want of it, under one condition. Let me have Gaara back for a moment... ", she looked determined, "Just a minute or two... If you do that I promise you can have as much as you want... "

"**Stop this now and run or you will die!**", the boy was still trying his best to keep the demon inside, but it seemed so much stronger than before, "Aww... Come on you wuss! You've lost because some drops of her blood are already mine... ", he chuckled, "This would happen sooner or later anyway. She is just offering to make it short and painless for you!"

"Don't worry about me Gaara... I'll be fine... ", with a weak smile she took a pair of garden clippers out of a shelf, holding them to her wrist, "Do we have a deal, demon?"

"I like that you're straight forward, but I actually would rather enjoy to bite you. Put that clipper away and we have a deal... ", he smirked devilishly.

"Fine... ", she let the item fall to the ground, "Now give me Gaara!"

"You have two minutes... ", the tension from his body melted away, only a look of disbelief remained on the boy's face, "What are you trying to accomplish by betraying me like this?"

"Please trust me... I am not betraying you... ", Bara walked up to him an hugged him tightly, rubbing his neck and back. Luckily he was too shocked and disappointed to push her away: "I know what I'm doing... ", blushing she looked at him, "Forgive me... ", a low snap came from his neck. Quickly she caught his limp body and placed it carefully on the floor.

Gaara was replaced by the demon again: "**What have you done, you little bitch?! Why can't I move this fucking body?!**", he snarled viciously.

"I'll repair the seal that keeps you locked away... ", she was calm, taking deep breaths of air. Performing a number of hand signs she focused her energy into her hands. This was the moment. Now or never. If it wouldn't work now than everything would be lost... As her hands glowed reddish she placed them on his torso: "Go back to sleep, Shukaku... "

"**I'll get you for this you little brat!!!**", the demon growled, throwing every curse he knew at the girl. The Kazekage's fingers started to twitch after a short while.

Sweat drops built on Bara's forehead, the procedure was very exhausting, '_Damn... I just hope the paralyze lasts until Gaara is back, or we'll both be..._ ', she gulped.

Little by little the boy's rants became less and his movements more: "Now I got you, wench... ", his hand moved to her body until his claws bore into her leg, leaving a bleeding wound.

A cry of pain left her lips, but she still managed to perform the sealing technique: "Don't be so stupid to think that a wound like that could stop me... ", she bit her lip and pressed tears of pain out of her eyes.

"S-Stop you from what?... ", his voice was weak, but it wasn't the demon anymore, "What happened?... "

Bara couldn't believe that her beloved had returned to her: "Don't move... Are you okay?", panting she still focused on repairing the seal.

"What are you doing?", slowly Gaara regained his strength.

"I had to trick the demon so I could get close enough to you to paralyze your body... It was the only way to make sure he wouldn't stop me from repairing your seal... Forgive me for not telling you... ", her breathing became heavier, sweat falling from her face.

"**Stop this NOW!**", he grabbed her arm and tried to pull it away, but she wouldn't move an inch, "**You'll die if you continue!!**"

"My life for yours... Suna needs you more than me... ", she coughed up blood, "The demon injured me badly so I'll die most probably anyway... I'm just trying to finish this properly, before I have to go... "

Gaara looked at the girl and saw a lot of blood coming from her leg and her back: "**Stop this NOW! Suna might need me, but I need YOU!!!**"

The girl winced: "Forgive me... ", she looked at him. She was crying: "It's over for me... You can't heal me, you know that... I just regret that I haven't told you earlier how I feel... ", the red glow disappeared from her hands. Her power had left her.

"What?... ", slowly he sat up, he could almost move normally again. Only his legs were immobile. He pulled her close to him: "What?... ", a tear left his eye. He would really lose her now, would he?

She just smiled at him: "I should have told you earlier... "

"WHAT?!", he was near crying, something he hadn't done since he had been six. Caring he pressed her frame protectively against his body.

"Kiss me and I'll tell you... ", she was getting weaker by the second, "My last wish... "

Without hesitation he kissed her, granting her wish.

"Thank you... ", she smiled weakly, "Gaara, I... I lo-", again she coughed up blood. This time it nearly suffocated her. Her vision was going black: "Gaara... I... you... I... lo... ", her consciousness was drifting into the darkness. The last thing she could hear were his screams for her and a second voice, but she wasn't able to tell if it was just her imagination or not...

* * *

**Is this the bitter end? D:**

**NO WAY!!! :D**

**I was really afraid that this chapter would get too cheesy, but I think the level of cheesiness turned out quite okay. Just to calm you a bit: Bara is NOT dead (at least not yet), but maybe you could have guessed that...**

**This time just a tiny little preview, sorry...**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Bara: Let me out!**

**Anbu: We have strict instructions to keep you in here until the Kazekage returns...**


	19. Nightmare

White Rose

**Chapter 19 doesn't contain a lot of action, but I guess it has some drama, hehe ^^°**

**Those of you who saw/read Naruto Shippuuden should slowly get an idea what's going to happen next...**

**Oh, well... Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, invisible-gurl, Sandra1920499, aquamarine-acaia**** and Kalashnikov07**

**Wow, I never got that much reviews for one chapter! You guys got me all blushing .**

**Thanks to ****girlX901, ****Kalashnikov07 and Sandra1920499 ****for the story alert ^^**

**1.600 Hits I can hardly believe it!**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Nightmare

_Bara stood in a room with big windows at the east side. It was Gaara's bedroom. Usually bright light came from the windows, giving this place a serene look, but not now. Currently it was raining, lightnings jumping from cloud to cloud. It was really strange to see it rain in Sunagakure, it hardly ever did. The atmosphere was uncomfortable and the girl was freezing. Something felt not right..._

_As a knock occurred from the door she turned to the sound: "Gaara?"_

"_Yes... ", he entered the room, taking a few steps into her direction._

"_Oh gods! Are you okay?", she walked to him and hugged him dearly, "I was so worried about you... Is the demon gone?"_

"_Everything is fine... ", he caressed her cheek, "You don't have to worry about me anymore... "_

_Bara raised her head to face him: "Really?... ", she was feeling uneasy._

"_Don't worry about me... ", softly he kissed her, making her blush, "There is no need for that anymore... "_

_Suddenly the windows broke and a gush of wind stormed through the room. Frightened she turned to the sound to see rain entering the interior. A second later she faced him again: "We need to-", she stopped in the middle of her sentence._

_The sight in front of her was leaving her in pure shock. Gaara's body turned slowly to sand an fell apart. His hand wanted to caress her cheek but was carried away by the wind before he had even come near her. Desperately she tried to grab his other arm, but it disappeared too. Tears started to run down her face: "You lied... ", she cupped his face with one hand and caressed his cheek with her thumb. The boy just gave her a smile that begged for her forgiveness before he was completely gone._

_The rain drenched her frame while a dark chuckle was heard in the room. Burying her face in her palms she tried to calm herself: "This is a nightmare... It's not real! It can't be!... Calm down, this is just a night-", she sank to her knees, panting for air. Something had wrapped around her throat, suffocating her. Hopelessly she tried to free herself from this thing around her neck, but the scaly material wouldn't move an inch. The pressure on her throat just became stronger. The oxygen in her lungs wasn't enough to support her breathing anymore. Her world turned black...

* * *

_

Bara's eyes shot open. She found herself in an unknown room. Panting for air she tried to recall the last thing she remembered, '_I was with Gaara... I patched up his fingers... We kissed..._ ', her face reddened, '_And the demon nearly managed to gain total control of his body.._. ', she shuddered. She couldn't forget that dreadful picture she had seen in front of her...

Looking a bit through the room she tried to figure out where she was... It looked like a sick room in the hospital. Since the sunlight had a rather orange color she guessed that it was near evening. Slowly she sat up, pain going through her body. Bara felt sore and tired. Nonetheless she tried to leave the bed and find somebody to ask what had happened. After all she had tried to fix Gaara's seal, but in the end she had been too injured by the demon to end the procedure properly... Maybe she was lucky and it was enough what she had done until she had lost her consciousness...

Wincing of pain Bara managed to stand on her feet and walk, or rather limp. She was slow. It took her some time to reach the room's exit. Opening the door she found two men standing on each side of it: "Erm... hello?... ", judging by their appearance they were Anbu of Sunagakure.

"Get back into the bed, girl. You are injured", one of them had turned his face to her. He was wearing the mask of a dog.

"I'm pretty fine here!", she pouted before wincing again from the pain.

The other man turned to her, he had the mask of a lizard: "Uh-huh... ", irony was in his voice.

"I'm not going back before I get some questions answered... ", she leaned against the door frame to ease the pain in her leg a bit, "Is Gaa-I mean... Is the Kazekage okay?", it was the first question that came to her mind. He was always in her thoughts...

The two men looked at each other, an uncomfortable atmosphere built up between them.

"We are not authorized to tell you that... ", dog had spoken.

"You can tell me, I'm his... ", she stopped and blushed. What exactly where they now? She wasn't sure since they hadn't even gotten a chance to talk about that point. "I'm a friend of him... ", at least she hoped they still were something like that. Maybe he was mad at her for what she had done... She didn't know...

"I will not repeat my words... ", the man with the dog mask made a step to her.

His stature intimidated her a bit, but she wanted to know about Gaara: "Okay... Then I'll go and find me someone who will answer my question... ", she pushed herself away from the door frame.

"You're not going anyway!", lizard had grabbed her upper arm, "I put her back to bed. You stay here, dog", said man nodded.

"HEY! You can't just do that!", Bara found herself in the arms of lizard, "Why the heck are you guys here anyway? I'm a legal citizen of Suna!", she wanted to hit the guard and free herself from his grip, but she stopped immediately as more pain washed through her body, "Let me out!", maybe words would help, "Please?"

"We have strict orders to keep you safely in this room until the Kazekage returns", the man placed her on the bed.

"So he is fine?!", she stopped protesting.

The man sighed: "You'll see as soon as he comes here, okay? Just be patient... ", he turned to leave, "There are some things for you on the desk, if you haven't noticed yet", he pointed his hand to a corner of the room before returning to his companion.

The girl watched the man leave before turning her head to where he had pointed his finger to. There was a small desk and a few items were on it. She hadn't noticed that until now. On the desk were a small vase with some white flowers, a card and a small parcel.

Curiously she eyed the desk and saw that it had small wheels attached to it. Reaching out with her hand she pulled the table near to her bed. Somehow she was really grateful that she didn't have to leave the bed again to look at those things. Her leg felt quite painful and she would absolutely renounce to that pain if it was avoidable... Oh well... At the moment she just wanted to know what exactly the items on the table were and where they came from.

The flowers had no card. If she remembered right they were white Zinnias, also known as desert Zinnias. A flower that was quite common to see in Suna. Usually the plant was found here and there, growing in the streets of the village. Not necessarily a flower people would give to someone stuck in a hospital bed, but they looked really nice and healthier than other ones. Chiyo had taught her a lot about the meaning of flowers. What had she told her about Zinnias again? You give them to friends you miss? Bara smiled. The flowers were most probably a gift from her sensei. The old woman never was a woman of many emotional words, at least from what the girl could remember...

Going on to the next item. It was a get well card with pictures of flowers on the front side. Curiously she opened the card and read the content:

_Hi Bara,_

_Please get well soon. Gaara is really worried about you, I've never seen him like this. He told me what happened and I am also worried if you'll be fine again. Tomorrow's your birthday and we actually wanted to have a little gathering, but the doctor said you'll be out for a few more days. As a little present I added a IOU to this card. I signed it for Temari too since I'm sure she'd agree on helping if she were here. I had a hard time to get Gaara to sign it though. He's all strange since you were brought to the hospital. I guess he's blaming himself for everything, but it's up to him to talk to you about his thoughts and feelings. I might be his brother, but I'm surely not his slave... Who am I kidding? He's the Kazekage and I'm one of his underlings, but I'm drifting off... Just hurry up and get well. Maybe he'll return to his old self when you'll be back. We miss you._

_Kankuro_

Sticking to the other side of the card she found the IOU. It had pictures of balloons and cute stick-figures that resembled the three siblings.

_IOU_

_- birthday party_

_- birthday cake_

_- birthday gifts_

_Temari_

_Kankuro_

_Gaara_

Bara giggled. They hadn't forgotten about her birthday. It made her happy. Then she sighed. If Gaara was behaving strange then it could be because he was really mad at her. But on the other side... Kankuro had written that his brother was worried about her and that meant that he cared for her. Gaara cared for her... A deep blush crept to her face. He had also kissed her... And HOW he had done it... She could still remember how he had captured her lips, just like he had waited forever to do so. Soft and caring he had cupped her face and caressed her cheek. His arms that had wrapped around her body. The feeling he had given to her back then... Pure bliss... He had shown her so much affection. She could hardly believe that it really happened. All this time she had been afraid that he would reject her. Doubting that he was able to show or feel something like affection for her or anybody else. And yet he had proven otherwise...

A warm smile spread on the girl's lips as hope gleamed in her heart. Maybe he loved her just like she loved him... Blushing she shook her head. Probably she was just exaggerating at the moment, but then again... His words had remained in her heart: Suna might need me, but I need YOU!... I need you... These words he had uttered made her heart jump like crazy. She realized that there was no reason for her doubts after all. She was happy and nobody could take that away from her now. She was ready to confess to him without death looking over her shoulder. Yes! She was going to tell him as soon as she would see him, even before he would open his mouth to say anything!

Putting the card away Bara eyed the last item on the desk. A small parcel with a red ribbon tied to it. That parcel had changed it's owner quite a few times now. Last time she had given it to Gaara on his birthday, two pendants in it. This was most probably his gift for her birthday this year. She was curious what was inside of the parcel, but she wanted to wait with opening it.

Suddenly she realized two things. One was that Gaara had never asked her about the pendants. The other was the fact that she must have been knocked out for days if her birthday had already passed. The day he had come to the flower shop had been three days before her birthday. How long had she been laying in this bed? She just had to know! Maybe those Anbu would at least answer that question...

"Erm... Dog?... Lizard?", nervous she bit her lip, "Anyone?"

The door opened and dog entered the room: "What?"

"Would you please tell me how long I've been here or what date it is?", Bara pressed the little parcel against her heart.

"You have been brought here on June 8th. Today is June 14th. Anything else?", the man was calm.

"Why are you guys exactly here? Am I a prisoner?", if he answered that one question it was worth to try asking more.

"You are no prisoner. We have been ordered to protect you and keep you safe until the Kazekage returns. That is what I can tell you", he answered truthfully.

She blushed. Gaara really cared a lot about her: "Is he... Will I see him soon?", she might have been unconscious for six days, but she was still worried for him, missing his presence. Especially after that horrible nightmare...

"I can't tell you that", he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Is that all?"

"Is there somebody around I could see and talk with? Kankuro? Temari? Maybe Chiyo-sama?", somehow she just wanted to see a familiar face, "Ah, sorry... Temari is in Konoha, I nearly forgot... "

Due to the mask the mans face was unreadable: "You know those three persons?"

"Yes. Kankuro and Temari are my friends. Chiyo-sama is my employer. I work in her flower shop... Is there anything wrong?", Bara tilted her head to the side.

"No... ", he let his arms hang loose again, "Are you done now?"

Bara was about to say something as her stomach growled. Embarrassed she looked at dog: "I think I'm hungry... "

"That will be taken care of. I will leave now. I hope we are done for the moment?", somehow his voice was different, but she couldn't put the finger on it.

Her protesting stomach stopped her from saying anything else than: "Yes, thank you... "

Ten minutes later lizard entered the room, a tray in his hands: "I was told you are hungry?"

"I'm starving… ", Bara rubbed her stomach.

The man placed the food on the small table next to the girl: "If you want more, feel free to tell me."

"Thank you very much, but where's dog?", she wondered why it wasn't dog to serve her the food. She had talked to him about that, not lizard.

"Outside", lizard took a seat and sat next to a wall, looking at her, "I thought you were hungry? You should eat."

"Ah, sure... ", the girl turned to the table and pulled it closer. Eating she eyed the man with the lizard mask: "Uhm... ", she swallowed the food in her mouth, "Am I so important that I have to be guarded while eating?", she felt a bit embarrassed.

"Just ignore me... ", he turned his head to the entrance, "I won't stay long."

Bara gave him a questioning look: "Huh?", since he didn't answer she shrugged it off.

As she continued eating the door to her room opened again: "She's here", dog entered, someone was behind him.

"**Temari!!**", pushing the table aside Bara jumped up from her bed only to lose her balance because of her injured leg, "Uuaah!"

"Clumsy and rash... ", lizard had caught her fall.

Blushing the white haired girl turned her head to lizard: "Erm... Thanks... I guess... ", he helped her sit back on the bed. Usually Gaara was the one to save her in a situation like this and it made her sad that it wasn't him to help her now. But this was no time to think about that. Temari had come to visit her!

"I was about to give you a hug, but I have a really hard time to walk on my own as you might have noticed", Bara laughed awkwardly.

The blonde walked up to her friend and hugged her, not one word leaving her mouth.

"We'll be outside... ", lizard left the room, taking dog with him.

"Uhm... Temari? Are you okay?", Bara hugged her friend. Something was not right, but before she could start thinking of it her stomach growled again: "Ah, Temari... Sorry to interrupt, but I'm really hungry... Would you mind if I continue eating? You can sit next to me on the bed meanwhile, okay?"

"Okay... ", her voice sounded so unusual. It was filled with sadness. Letting her friend go Temari sat next to her on the bed.

Bara pulled the table closer and began eating again: "Did I worry you guys that much? Is that the reason you're not in Konoha?"

The blonde just shook her head: "I was told you're here not long after I arrived today... I had no clue until Kankuro told me... "

"You met Kankuro? How come he didn't came to visit me too?", Bara sure had a lot of questions in her mind.

"He can't come... ", the blonde didn't seem very talkative at the moment.

"What about Gaara? The sun is setting and that means he'll leave his office soon, right?", full of hope she looked at her friend, "I just have to see him! After what happened, I'm ready to tell him how I feel. I don't have anymore doubts about telling him... "

Temari looked at her friend with disbelief.

"I love him so much... ", a blush was seen on Bara's face. Her lips formed a soft, loving smile and her eyes held that unmistakable shine. She was simply... glowing...

Suddenly the blonde broke down in tears, hugging her friend.

Bara returned the hug: "Temari?", she was worried, "I-Is something wrong? What happened?", she had NEVER seen her friend so... so... weak...

Temari wasn't able to contain her boxed up feelings anymore. So much had happened while she had been gone... Bara and Kankuro had been near dying, Sunagakure had been nearly destroyed and Gaara had been taken away by Akatsuki... She had been relieved that Bara had awakened from her sleep and would be fine, but then... The way how Bara had spoken about anything, like nothing had happened... Unfortunately it was the opposite situation and if she told her it would break her heart! Especially now when she was so happy and hopeful... But she had to tell her. Bara had to know the truth, better sooner than later...

"Temari, please talk to me... Tell me what grief you have... I'm here for you... ", she rubbed the blonde's back, comforting her.

Temari slowly calmed down: "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... "

"It's okay. Everybody needs to give vent to their feelings now and then... Feel free to come to me whenever you need to talk, okay?", their hug ended. Bara smiled: "Now tell me. What happened to you that you came to me so upset?"

"Something really bad happened... ", the blonde wiped away her tears, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me something first... "

"Of course. Whatever you want... "

"Whatever I'm going to say, don't interrupt me... I might just break down again if you do... And then I won't be able to finish what I have to tell you... Promise it!", Temari sounded desperate.

"I promise... ", Bara was still calm, silently waiting for what her friend had to tell.

"Then I guess I start with how and why I came back to Suna... I was in Konoha, enjoying a little free time, drinking a cup of tea... Since the first two parts of the Chunin exams were already finished, I thought of spending some time with Shikamaru... ", Bara opened her mouth only to close it a second later as she saw the sorrow in Temari's eyes, "My tea cup cracked by the time I wanted to take another sip of it... You know that I usually don't believe in that stuff, but I had an awkward feeling that time... I left Konoha to come visit you guys before the last exam would start. I wanted to check on you... On my way to Suna I was surprised by a team of ninjas from Konoha... They told me... ", Temari hesitated.

Bara had promised to not interrupt her friend, so she kept quiet. Rubbing one of Temari's upper arms she smiled, indicating her to continue.

"They told me about the attack on Suna... They said it had been an organization named Akatsuki... The village had been destroyed if Gaara hadn't intervened... He had given everything to stop the attacker, but... ", she bit her lip.

But? Bara slowly retracted her hand. Had something gone wrong? Had somebody been killed? A part of the village destroyed? Or even worse?!

"The village hadn't been their target... It never was... ", Bara's heart took up the pace, "They were after Gaara... ", her heart nearly broke out of her ribcage, "And they captured him, took him away... ", it stopped moving.

Bara's heart had stopped beating for a few seconds, her eyes widened in pure shock. That couldn't be true! Gaara was the Kazekage! The strongest shinobi in all of Sunagakure! And somebody kidnapped him?! This was a nightmare! Her worst nightmare!

"Kankuro went alone after the kidnapper... He got injured and deadly poisoned... ", Temari took a deep breath of air, "I was so relieved that Sakura was able to cure him... She is a kunoichi of Konoha... By the time Kankuro was better he told me what exactly happened when Akatsuki attacked. I was really confused when he mentioned that Gaara had fallen unconscious from the fight... ", the blonde seemed to gather more and more courage with every word she said, "He said that he was really afraid that the demon would rise and destroy everything in it's way, but nothing like that happened! I thought that was impossible because whenever he would sleep or lose his consciousness, the demon would take over... But then he told me about you... "

"Huh?!", confusion spread on Bara's face.

"You saved the village by improving Gaara's seal! If you hadn't done that, something horrible would have happened and for that I am grateful... Kankuro found you and Gaara in the flower shop. You were pretty lucky that he was able to bring you to the hospital fast enough to save your life... ", Temari hugged her, "Thank you! For everything! I'm so happy that you survived... "

"But... ", Bara started sobbing, "But... Gaara?!... "

The blonde looked at her friend. She had risked her life for the Kazekage, had nearly died of that and even now she was only thinking of him?!

"I need to find him... ", tears ran down her face, "I have to help him... ", she stood up, ignoring the pain in her leg as good as possible.

"Calm down!", Temari stopped her, "You can't go in your condition!"

"I can... And I'm sorry, but you can't stop me like this... ", she walked passed her friend.

"Wait! You-!", Temari had tried to move, but something had left her immobile, "What the?!", she looked down at herself. Ice had captured her legs and was now crawling up to her chest. Her arms were slowly freezing: "**Dog! Lizard!**", the white haired girl was now out of her sight.

The two men entered the room: "Shit! Dog, go get a doctor!"

Said man disappeared while coughing sounds were heard.

"A doctor?! What's wrong?", Temari somehow managed to free her hands. Luckily the layer of ice wasn't too thick.

"Please... I need to-", Bara coughed again. She had used way too much chakra to freeze up Temari.

"In your condition all you need is a doctor! You're coughing up blood!", lizard carried her back to bed.

Temari had freed herself completely while Bara was placed back in her bed: "You have to stay here and heal! Your body is too weak to go after him! Besides of that you can't always help him... "

"B-But Gaara... ", she sobbed heartbreakingly.

"He'll come back, okay? Just calm down... ", Temari started crying again, "There is a rescue team leaving tomorrow morning to get him back. They'll find and save him!"

"But-"

"He is going to come back! And even if you were physically fine, how would you find him?"

"I don't know... not yet... ", Bara averted her gaze.

"It doesn't matter... I want you to promise me, that you won't do something like this again!"

"But-"

"You harmed your own body before even leaving this room! At this rate you would have died before you would have left this building!"

"But-"

"Stop that! Promise me, that you won't do something like that again!"

Bara looked at Temari. Even while crying she looked angry. Unfortunately she was right. If Bara had continued like that, she wouldn't have been of any help to her beloved: "I promise... "

"Good... And please, don't worry too much about him... It'll just kill you and I can't let that happen. You understand?", Temari smiled sadly. Meanwhile dog had returned with a doctor.

"I understand... ", Bara understood her friend completely, but would she really be able to stay in the hospital bed and do nothing while her beloved was in danger?...

* * *

**I bet you wondered why Anbu are guarding her, right? ^^ Ah, well, that will stay a secret for now, but you'll find out soon enough.**

**Next question would be: Is she really going to stay in bed and do nothing? Take a guess ;)**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Bara: What the hell do you think you're doing?!**

**Anbu: My job?**

**Bara: Surely not as long as I'm in the bathroom!!! OUT!**


	20. Plotting a plan

White Rose

**So here you get chapter 20!! I didn't want you guys to suffer too much from Gaara's loss so in order to loosen up the situation I added a little fun part in here. Hope you'll have fun with that ;D**

**Anyway - Great thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992 and aquamarine-acaia**

**Also I'm really sorry that there have been so much problems with the last chapter, but I couldn't help it...**

**I'll stop counting hits since there's been a problem with chapter 19 and I and my boyfriend checked every five minutes if it was working... I guess about 80 of the hits I've seen are from me and him...**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Plotting a plan

"How does it look?", Temari was leaning with her back against a wall. It was late in the evening.

"I've taken care of the worst. If she eats properly for the next days and stays in bed, she should be able to heal on her own", the female in front of Bara stood up from her bed, "Whatever she did, it consumed all of her energy so there was none left for healing her own body."

"I can hear you, you know? You can talk to me too... ", the white haired girl muttered.

"Then you better listen to what I say. Eat properly, drink enough and rest! If you do that your body will recover in a few days. I've healed the inner bleeding up to a level where it is no threat to your life anymore. You should be fine now. Nevertheless I recommend you not to leave the bed for one week minimum", the girl smiled.

"Thank you very much... ", Bara bowed her head in respect.

"Yes, thank you very much. I'm really grateful that you came here to help her even though it's so late and you've already taken such good care of Kankuro today... ", Temari also bowed her head in respect, "Thank you Sakura. I don't know what we would have done without you. Our medics couldn't help these two troublemakers... "

"I'm not a troublemaker... ", Bara pouted.

The blonde walked up to her: "You ARE a troublemaker! You've troubled Gaara and Kankuro with your little stunt back in the flower shop! You nearly killed yourself and you think that doesn't trouble anyone?!", angrily she poked her chest.

"I retract my previous statement!", Bara was nervous for she knew not to meddle with an angry Temari.

The pink haired medic giggled, making all eyes wander to her. Sakura noticed that: "Don't mind me... It's just good to see that not everybody in Suna is gloomy and sad because of what happened... ", without knowing she had hit a sensitive spot. The whole atmosphere in the room changed, a dark aura spread through the interior. "I-I mean... Sorry to remind you... But you shouldn't give up hope yet", she looked determined, "We'll bring him back!"

"You're going after him with your team, right?", Bara was just too curious.

"Yes! We already made up a plan for his rescue. We'll find him!"

"I wonder... ", the white haired girl stopped for a second to remember something, '_Sakura... He called me like that when we met the first time... And that pink hair... Could she be..._ ?'

"Is something wrong?", Sakura sat back on the bed.

"Uhm... I just wonder... On your team... Is there a blonde, blue eyed guy, named Naruto?", Bara's hands motioned something like spiky hair.

"How do you know that?", Sakura looked bewildered. Temari just smiled and sat on a seat next to the bed.

"I was told by Gaara... ", Bara blushed a bit, "I thought of thanking that guy for everything he did if I would meet him some day... But I guess that would be really odd since I don't know him... "

"Why do you want to thank him?", the pink haired girl wondered.

"Because he is the reason why Gaara became Kazekage and why he changed his attitude... Naruto is the reason why Gaara is the person who he is now... ", a blush and a warm smile were on her face.

Temari put her hand on Bara's shoulder: "Don't give all the credits to that boy... You've changed him too... ", she whispered.

"You think?", the blonde nodded, making Bara smile shyly, "Anyway... I'd really like to thank him, but I'm sure it would be an awkward situation... "

"Currently he's sleeping so you won't get to meet him now. It's late anyway... Tomorrow we'll be leaving really soon so you won't get to see him either", Sakura gave her a wink, "You'll just have to wait until we return with Gaara. Then you can thank him."

Waiting... When there was something Bara hated at the moment it was waiting. Waiting for a message that her beloved was okay, waiting for him to be saved, waiting for him to come back, waiting while doing nothing... But unfortunately she couldn't change the situation now... "Sure... I'll be waiting... ", she sighed.

"Since it is quite late you should be sleeping anyway. We should leave now. Temari?", the blonde nodded, "I was nice to meet you, Bara."

"Same here, Sakura... Good night and see you some time later... ", she bid the two girls good bye before the lights went out and the door was closed.

Now she was alone again... Well, almost... Since that incident with freezing up Temari occurred they didn't leave her alone anymore. So either dog or lizard would stay in her room. Bara tried her best to ignore them...

Yawning she made herself comfortable in her bed, staring at the ceiling. The moon lighted the interior with pale colors. She felt tired, but she didn't want to sleep. Bara knew that she would be haunted by nightmares as long as she didn't know if Gaara was fine... Turning her head to the side she watched the shadows on the wall. It was quite boring until one of the shadows caught her eye.

It was the small table with gifts for her. Particularly the ribbon from the little parcel had caught her attention. Gaara's birthday gift... Turning her head to the other side she took the parcel. Maybe this would help her a bit with her loneliness. It was the closest she could be to him at the moment. Slowly she opened it. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the item in it. It was a white, silky handkerchief.

Hadn't she seen this one before? Pulling it out of the box she unfolded it, revealing a symbol sewed to it. She knew that symbol from somewhere... It looked like a rose... Suddenly she bent forward and removed the blanket from her left foot.

"You should be sleeping. You heard the medic... ", dog had noticed her moving.

Bara cringed and nearly fell out of the bed, '_Oh shit... Totally forgot him..._ ', she turned her head to the Anbu, "You scared the hell out of me... "

"That wasn't on purpose, sorry... What are you doing there?"

"Nothing in particular... Don't mind me. I'll go to dreamland in a minute or two... "

"If you feel pain or something strange, you can tell me. It's my job to take care of you after all... "

"I understand... ", returning to her previous thoughts she turned away.

Carefully she held the hanky next to her ankle. The symbols looked absolutely identical! This hanky used to be hers, she knew it! But how had Gaara obtained it?!... Leaning back and covering up her leg again she eyed the fabric. Slowly she remembered where she had seen this item lastly. It was in her childhood... It had been night on a playground and... Realization struck her like a lightning. The crying boy... Her very first friend... That was him! That was Gaara! The past few months she had been so busy doing different things that she had totally forgotten about that part of her past. Now it had come back to her...

A soft smile spread on her lips. Their very first meeting hadn't been on that night when the nuke-nin assaulted her... It was rather the faitful night on the playground... Her very first friend had become the one she truly loved, even through all the bad circumstances they had been given. Gaara, who had been treated like a monster for his whole childhood, who had been alone for so long... And Bara? She didn't know much about her childhood, but she knew that it was connected to much loss, loneliness and no place to call home... Yes, both of them had had a childhood you wouldn't wish your children. Nonetheless they had found each other in all the chaos that was called their lives...

Wiping away a tear of joy she folded the fabric and wanted to put it back into the box as she noticed there was something else in it. It was small and it emitted a soft glow. Curiously she took the item and held it into the moonlight. The pendant?! Yes! That was one of her pendants! Had he sealed his chakra into the empty one she had given him, or was this the other one? Bara doubted that he knew how to make that pendant work, but maybe Shukaku had told him once. Looking at the yellowish color she couldn't judge if it was her status or his that was displayed. Most probably they were both injured...

There was just one way to find out... Carefully she pushed a tiny bit of her chakra into the pendant. If nothing would happen it would be the one she had made long ago... Slowly her energy entered the material, pushing the sealed chakra to the side. The foreign energy deformed the material, making the pendant look like some kind of arrow. It was pointing to the north. So it WAS Gaara's chakra and the arrow pointed directly to his position!

Shedding tears of happiness she put the two items back into the little parcel and placed it under her pillow. New hope had awakened in her. Now that she had the instrument find him, she only needed a solution to leaving this place without being stopped or getting killed. She definitely needed a plan if she wanted to go after him. And she would go after him! As soon as she figured a more or less safe way to do so! Sure, she had promised Temari to not harm her own body in an attempt to go after Gaara, but that only meant she had to find a way to avoid that!

Maybe she could join the team that Sakura was in? No, that was a bad idea... Sakura being a medic, wouldn't let her leave the bed under any circumstances... And if she told them about the pendant they would only take it away from her! She wouldn't give that item away even if the world was ending! Besides of that they already had a plan to find him! Nevertheless it was too late to go and ask. Tomorrow they would leave early and that meant they really needed the sleep now. Bara would only stand in their way. It was better if she left alone...

Yawning she closed her eyes. Tomorrow she would look for a solution. Since she didn't have anything better to do she could use the whole day to look for a way to solve her problems. But at the moment she was just extremely tired. Some sleep would do her good after all. Slowly her mind drifted away while thinking about a plan to save her beloved...

* * *

The next morning came and Bara awakened from nearly the same nightmare she had had the day before. Panting for air she looked through the room to assure herself that it was just a nightmare, '_Gods... I should really try to relax, but that's hard when I have to worry so much for him... _'

Lazily she got out of bed and limped to the bathroom. She was just happy that her room had a private bathroom. Dozily she walked into the middle of the room before returning to the door and closing it. She was just about to please her natural need as she realized that someone was with her: "**What the hell do you think you're doing here?!**", luckily she hadn't undressed herself yet.

"My job?", dog stood in front of the bathroom window, his back was facing her.

"S-Surely NOT when I'm in the bathroom! OUT!!!", she was embarrassed and pointed her finger to the exit.

"You can't be left alone, especially after what you've done to Temari-san... ", he turned to face her.

"I-I've told you guys it won't happen again and I haven't harmed her anyway! So could I please have some privacy when I want to use the facilities?!", she was shivering because she didn't know how to handle such a situation. It was just so embarrassing for her: "Y-You're a guy! GET OUT!!!"

He walked up to her: "If I was a woman, you wouldn't mind?"

"I WOULD mind! Th-The bathroom is a place where I want to be alone!", her face reddened in more embarrassment.

"Fine... But we'll be watching you, kid!", he opened the door.

Bara gulped: "Y-You want to peep on me?! I'm not even your age! Y-You are a pervert!! Now I can't go to the toilet anymore... ", unpleasant pictures popped up in her head, "And y-you call yourself A-Anbu?", now she was afraid. If she wasn't injured she'd kick asses if they would try to assault her, but what now?!

"I heard a yell. What's wrong here?", lizard was standing in the door.

"**KYA!!!**", Bara buried her face in her hands and turned away, "Please don't do perverted things to me... ", she was seriously afraid.

"Perverted thi-dog?!", the men faced each other, "Okay you insensitive klutz. What have you done now?"

"I didn't do anything!", he scratched the back of his head, "Just guarding... You know... "

Lizard pulled his companion out of the bathroom: "Girl in bathroom is a no go – you finally get it?!"

"I tried staying serious! You said I should be serious!", dog tried to defend himself.

"We'll talk about that later... ", if someone could see through the mask he would be seeing lizard rolling his eyes, "Sorry to keep you waiting girl. You have full privacy as long as you are in the bathroom, okay?"

"Y-You're not going to do perverted stuff and peep?", she turned to show her reddened face.

"We won't disturb you unless there is a significant reason to do so. You can calm down. And dog is no pervert, he just had a rather strange upbringing. Don't mind him", the man closed the door and left.

Finally Bara was alone. Quickly she locked the door before following her natural needs. After taking off the bandages she took a shower to calm her nerves. Maybe she had kissed before, but she was still way too shy for anything beyond that. Especially when it included anybody else but Gaara. She just hoped that he would help her overcome that... Sure, she wanted to do the things couples would do when they're alone, but that didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed or not afraid of them. Quite the contrary! She couldn't even get herself to imagine such things. An exception to that had been that arousing dream of hers, but that was long forgotten again. And it would stay like that unless she'd go into her library to check on it. But there was absolutely NO chance she'd do that.

Sighing she put the bandages back and dressed herself. With a towel on her head she unlocked and opened the door to let the gathered steam out. After that she also opened the bathroom window. Rubbing her hair dry she searched for one of the Anbu. Preferably lizard since she was a bit afraid of dog now.

Nobody seemed to be around: "Hello?"

The door slid open and lizard entered with a tray: "I got you breakfast."

"Thanks... ", she put the towel back to it's place before limping to her bed. She was happy to get some food into her stomach.

Luckily the rest of her day passed by quite uneventfully, except for her meals. Nobody disturbed her while she was in her library, plotting a plan...

* * *

"**GAH!!!**", Bara was in the Ninja techniques room of her library, it had become noon, "I just can't figure out a plan that doesn't include somebody helping me... The Anbu won't let me out... Temari would kill me if she knew what I'm doing... Kankuro and Chiyo-sama haven't visited me so the chance to talk to them is zero... ", grumbling she put a load of books back into their shelves, "Damn... I just wish I could do some magic and summon somebody or at least SOMETHING to help me... "

Yeah, magic would do pretty good right now. Just some short words or a hand sign and POOF! There you got everything you want, summoned out of nowhere... Just like Kankuro and Chiyo did with their puppets... Wait... Those were summoning Jutsus if she remembered right. Chiyo had once explained her something about that... It is possible to summon items and living creatures with that technique. An item you want to use must be stored inside a medium, for example a scroll. If you want to summon a living creature you have to sign a contract with their species... The technique was called... Kuchiyose no Jutsu!

Maybe this was just what she needed. Summoning a living creature to help her would most probably do the job, but how?! Signing a contract was one thing, but that meant she had to find and talk to one of those creatures to have a chance to sign it... To talk to one of those creatures she would have to summon them, which meant she had to have the contract already signed... "**GAAAAH!!!**", she ruffled her hair, "This is a vicious circle!! How the hell do people sign those contracts without ever seeing one of those creatures?!", that was the question. If she could find an answer to that question, she'd be a great step closer to Gaara.

Sighing she ordered a new load of books that contained information about summoning techniques. Skipping through their contents she found that there were many species that could be summoned. Too many... It took her hours to find a way of establishing a contract with one of the species. To do that she had to call upon the king of the respective species with a unique and rather complicated technique. Now the problem was to choose a type of animal...

Snakes were obviously a bad idea to choose. They just gave her the creeps and most of them grew to sizes bigger than the Kazekage building. That wouldn't work in a room as small as hers...

Snails and turtles – too slow...

Fish, sharks, dolphins, whales – Not enough water around...

Bees, spiders, centipedes – She never had a thing for insects...

This was harder than expected. What she needed was something that could move through any kind of terrain, an intelligent creature and most important not too big since she had to summon it secretly. That were the attributes she was looking for. Everything else didn't matter to her.

As she finally opened her eyes again sometime later, she just hoped that her decision would be a good one. But the hard part was still to come. Maybe she had the information she needed in her library, but she wasn't able to memorize everything from that complicated technique she would have to use to summon the king for her contract. She needed ink and some paper to make herself notes, but she would probably have to wait until tomorrow before she could get her hands on those items. Night had fallen and she was tired even though she had hardly left the bed, '_I guess mental effort affects the body more than I thought... _'

Pulling out the small parcel from under her pillow Bara wondered if her beloved was okay. She opened the box and pulled out the pendant. Holding it to the moonlight she analyzed the color. Yesterday it had been yellow. Today it was a light shade of yellowish orange. His status was getting worse, '_I'll come save you... Tomorrow I'll do my best to leave this place... Don't leave me alone, okay?..._ '

Placing the items back to their places she cuddled into her bed, slowly drifting into dreamland...

* * *

Morning had come and once again Bara woke up from a nightmare. It wasn't completely the same as the first one, but it was horrible anyway. Always she would be alone somewhere until Gaara appeared. He would show her affection for a short while only to disappear again. Left alone again she would always find herself choking, fighting for air...

Sighing she ate her breakfast, eying the Anbu in front of her.

"Something wrong?", lizard sat on a chair near the exit.

"I'm bored... Got nothing to do... ", she pouted.

"Is that the reason you've been sleeping nearly nonstop yesterday?"

"You can say that... ", she continued eating.

"Is there something I can bring you to chase away your boredom?"

'_Jackpot..._ ', she swallowed the food in her mouth, "Could I possibly get something to write and draw? Some ink and paper maybe?"

"Yeah, why not? I can get you something like that", he was sure she wouldn't get into mischief if she just wanted to draw something.

Things were going better than she thought. After she had finished her meal, she received the requested items. Immediately she started taking notes and drawing pictures that would help her summoning. Of course every now and then she stole a glance at the Anbu, taking care that they had no clue what she was doing.

It had become afternoon as Bara was finally done with her preparations. Only after double and triple checking everything she had been satisfied with the result. Now she only had to get everything into the bathroom without her guard noticing.

Dog was currently guarding her. She was still a bit suspicious about him since that event in the bathroom. Carefully she folded the paper and closed the small ink pot firmly. Secretly hiding the items and the small parcel under her shirt she pressed everything to her stomach. Slowly she left the bed and limped into the direction of the bathroom.

"Where do you think you're going?", dog sat in his chair, looking at her.

"T-To the bathroom?", she had frozen in place.

He didn't move a muscle: "Do you have any pain? You look uneasy, holding your stomach like that. Should I call a doctor?"

Bara's heart fell to her knees of relief: "Ah, no... I guess I'm just a little hungry since it should be dinner time soon... You'll excuse me... ", that was close.

A few seconds later she was in the bathroom, locking the door. After closing the window she turned on the shower. Steaming hot water fell to the ground. It was making quite some noise, but that was on purpose. Then she took her notes and placed a part of them on the ground. Notes in one hand and ink in the other she started to draw symbols to the ground with her finger. She had to act fast so her guards wouldn't get suspicious. About five minutes later she had completed the drawing.

Creating a blade of ice she punctured the fingertips of her right hand. A little bit of blood escaped from the wounds. Hoping that this would really work she pressed her right hand onto the middle of the drawing, blood mixing with ink, '_Showtime!_'...

* * *

**I wonder who she's summoning... But more than that I wonder if she gets caught. After all she's trying to flee from the hospital and out of Suna! She better have a good plan...**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Dog: You alright in there? _knocking at bathroom door_**

**Bara: I-I'm perfectly fine! P-Please don't come in! _panicking_**

**Dog: You've been quite long in there. Your meal has arrived.**


	21. Preparations

White Rose

**I don't know why, but I kinda had a real hard time writing this chapter. Nevertheless I gave my best to upload it this weekend just for you guys =D I hope to positively surprise you with the happenings in this chapter ^^**

**Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992 and aquamarine-acaia**

**The next thank you goes to bluevamp, enapets21 and dedichan for adding this story to their favorites**

**Another thank you goes to MmUuSsIiCc for story alerting this ^^**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Preparations

Smoke spread through the bathroom as Bara performed the summoning Jutsu. Now she realized that it had been a really bad idea to close the window. Sitting straight she looked at the shadow hidden by smoke. Was this correct? Had she successfully summoned the king of her desired species?

She focused at the shadow in front of her. The smoke was hardly moving so she could see almost nothing. The girl gulped. She wasn't sure if she had summoned the right being. It seemed bigger than her. Whispering she tried to let it know, that she was there: "I have summoned you. Please conceal your chakra and speak low. I need this to stay a secret. I will clear things up later."

Suddenly she could hear a growl coming from the summoned being and it sounded quite irked. Slowly she could see more. Big claws sharp as a knife were attached to the creature's feet, deadly fangs could be seen in its mouth and the eyes of a ferocious killer stared into her direction. It looked like this animal wasn't what she had been after.

'_Oh shit... oh shit... oh shit..._ ', Bara was afraid of the creature in front of her. Slowly she inched away from the figure in the smoke, '_I think this was a bad idea.._. ', her heart started to race.

The animal approached her while she backed away. Suddenly her back hit the bathroom door and the creature came very close. Swinging its tail from one side to the other it started to sniff at her. This looked bad. This looked really bad! What the hell had she gotten herself into and how was she to get out of it?! Well, at least it couldn't get any worse, could it? After all the creature seemed more or less calm.

A knock occurred from the bathroom door, the beast's eyes shifted to the sound. Okay, it just got worse! The animal looked like its attitude was changing to a more unpleasant one.

"Are you alright in there?", dog's damped voice came through the door while the beast let out a low grunt.

The ferocious eyes moved back to the now shaking girl. It seemed like it was waiting for her to do something.

"Can you hear me? Are you okay?", dog knocked again at the door.

Bara realized that the beast wanted her to answer: "I-I can hear you. I-I'm perfectly fine! P-Please don't come in", her heart took up the pace, Bara was panicking. She was afraid that the animal would kill her if she did anything wrong.

"Are you sure? You've been in there for quite a while now. Your meal has arrived."

She locked gazes with the beast, trying to read its thoughts: "Oh, r-really? I-I guess I got lost in m-my thoughts. D-Don't bother. I'll come o-out in a few minutes. I-I'm really hungry."

"Okay", dog seemed to walk away. Luckily her stuttering hadn't attracted unwanted attention since she would have stuttered anyway when talking to him. The bathroom incident with dog had most probably saved her life now.

As the Anbu was gone the beast walked away from her, giving her back her some room to breathe. Disbelievingly she watched the animal sit down across from her, looking at all the things she had spread through the bathroom. "So you have summoned me?", it whispered while grabbing one of her notes, reading through it.

The sudden sound of the beast's voice had startled her: "Y-Y-Yes... "

"Calm down, I won't kill you... ", it continued reading through her note.

Her eyes widened, staring at the creature. As she slowly calmed down she noticed that the beast in front of her actually looked... civilized... The smoke was nearly gone now and she could finally see what she had summoned: "You are a... Are you the-? Erm... ", her fear had ceased but somehow she couldn't think of the right words. She didn't want to appear rude if she really had summoned a king to her. Judging by the voice and the look she had assumed that the creature was a male.

"Maybe we should introduce each other... ", he put the piece of paper away and looked at her.

"My name is Bara... ", she gave him a short nod.

"Pleased to meet you... I am Enkou o Enma, king of monkeys. Feel free to call me Enma", he eyed her carefully, "Now to the reason why you have called upon me... "

"Could we possibly discuss this somewhere else?", Bara looked nervously at the door she was leaning on, "I don't want to get caught. Please?"

"As you wish... ", he stood up.

The girl stood up herself with a little problems and started to gather all the notes. Afterwards she opened the window, letting the remaining smoke and steam leave the room. Standing in front of the window she ignited a flame in her hands, making her notes turn to ash. Enma looked surprised but didn't stop her.

"I don't know if this is appropriate, but could you please help me leave this place? I'm injured and we have to leave through the window... ", she looked at the floor where she had drawn that picture. Luckily the ink had been consumed by the Jutsu, leaving the floor tiles clean.

He just nodded and let out a low grunt. Then he walked to the window and offered her his back: "Get on... "

"A second... ", quickly she concealed her chakra and performed a number of hand seals, calling upon a shadow clone. The clone waited for her sign to follow the first part of her plan while Bara got onto his back.

"Now where do we go?", he stared at the roofs of the village in front of him.

Bara stretched out her hand and pointed to a balcony high above any other: "Can you get us up there?"

"Yes. Are you ready?", he jumped up the window ledge.

"I'm ready... ", she took a last glance at her clone, giving her okay.

"Hold on tight then", the beast jumped away, leaving Bara's shadow clone behind.

The Kage Bunshin undressed and jumped under the shower before turning the water off. To make her plan look believable she had to take care that every detail was right. The Anbu weren't dim, she knew that. They would notice every detail that wasn't correct if she made a mistake. Her clone had to act as natural as possible. Luckily that wouldn't be too hard. After all, her clone was nearly a hundred percent her. A living, thinking being.

Suddenly another knock occurred from the bathroom door. Drying and dressing herself she went to the door and unlocked it. With a towel on her head she greeted dog: "I-I'm done... "

"Your meal is getting cold... ", it seemed that he hadn't noticed what had happened in the bathroom not too long ago...

* * *

About ten minutes later Enma and Bara had arrived on the balcony. She got off his back and carefully scanned the apartment for any other being. Just as she had expected. No one was around. "It's clear. Let's get in... ", she turned to her new companion, opening the balcony door for both of them, "We can talk freely here."

Taking a step to the side she made way for the beast to enter the apartment before her: "Thank you for bringing me here, Enma."

"No problem.. ", he went down on all four and walked into the apartment, "Is this yours?"

The girl smiled: "Not exactly, but normally I do live here... ", she followed after him, closing the balcony door.

"Now tell me... What is the reason for my summoning?", he walked through the apartment, searching for a place to make himself more or less comfortable.

"I seek your help... And maybe a chance to sign the contract for summoning your species... ", limping she followed him. Enma wasn't what she had wanted to summon, but beggars can't be choosers. Even if this wasn't what she had wanted, she knew that his help would do her good no matter what.

Enma had found his way to the living room and jumped on the couch: "It is my decision if I let you sign the contract or not... I guess you know that", he lay down.

"I am fully aware of that fact... ", her eyes stared to the ground.

"Then you should also know that I can't make this decision lightly. After all I would entrust my whole kind to you... ", Enma sat up again, "I want you to tell me for what reason you need my help and why you fled from the hospital... "

"I want to save the person I treasure the most, but since I'm injured I would have a hard time doing that on my own. It wouldn't be a good idea to go alone after him anyway... My friends wouldn't let me leave the bed even if I feel fine. They would try and stop me from this if they knew about it, but... ", Bara took a deep breath of air, "I just can't do what they have asked me to. I can't stay still and do absolutely nothing when the person I love is in danger. Besides of that I know that the whole village needs him... He is the Kazekage and I can't look at the faces of suffering villagers... He has always protected us and to accomplish that he would have given his life... "

Enma watched her slowly going down on her knees.

"He is a good person. He has done very much for the village... and for me... I believe that I, as a part of this village and as his friend, have to go and at least try to help him. I wish to free him. Wherever he might have been taken. Whoever his kidnappers might be... How small the chances to save him might be... I will go under any circumstances. Even if I am injured, even if you reject my request... I will go no matter what... ", slowly she bowed her head to the ground, "Nevertheless I beg for your help and the help of your kind. I beg for your help because it will increase my chances on saving him... ", tears trickled onto the floor, "I bow my head in respect of you for listening to what I had to say. For that I thank you... Please... Please accept my request... Help me... "

The monkey slowly got off the couch, staring at the girl in front of him. After a few minutes of silence he patted her head, ruffling her hair.

Bara squealed surprised: "EH?!"

"You can stop bowing like that... ", he pulled the girl onto her feet, "Aren't you a bit too young to love that bastard of a man? And as far as I remember he is married and has three children... And that attack he directed on Konoha... ", snarling he seemed to contemplate something.

"You're talking about the fourth Kazekage. He is dead for over two years now... At least that is what I was told... ", she wiped away her tears, "I'm talking about the Fifth, Gaara... But I wonder why the attack on Konoha would bother you... "

"The fourth is dead?... ", the monkey looked disbelievingly at her.

Bara nodded: "It was his own fault for accepting the dirty deal he was given... The man who had offered the deal killed the Fourth... That's what Gaara said... Hm... Now that I think of it... I was never told the name of that man... "

"I know his name... It's Orochimaru... ", Enma's voice sounded sinister.

The girl froze, all color leaving her face. Her eyes widened in fear while she started shaking uncontrollably. Just the mentioning of this name was enough to wreck her nerves, but why? She didn't know who this man was or what he had done, did she? She couldn't remember this man, but somehow her heart seemed to know him, making her cringe and shake in endless fear.

After a while the monkey kings voice ripped her out of that state: "The last time I was summoned was when that bastard attacked Konoha together with Suna shinobi... Old Sarutobi was the last person to sign my contract... ", he pulled out a Konoha headband, looking at it.

"Asuma Sarutobi? I know him. He saved my life once... "

"Not Asuma, little girl. Hiruzen, his father, the third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the last name on the contract... You remind me of him... "

"I see... ", she didn't know that Asuma was the son of the third Hokage, but she just never asked. Looking at the monkey in front of her she could see remorse and sadness in his face. Enma and Hiruzen must have known each other for a long time. Most probably they had been friends. The look on his face made her want to comfort him even though she hardly knew him...

"May I have that for a second?", she pointed at his headband. Willingly he gave her the item. Bara looked at it, running her fingers over the metal: "I guess that you don't know much about what happened during the past years... Konoha and Suna are allies and live together in peace. They even help each other. The fifth Hokage was inaugurated. She is a woman named Tsunade and from what I heard a good leader. Gaara, the fifth Kazekage has managed to make everything better for the villagers and shinobi of Sunagakure. He is a good and responsible leader even though he is barely fifteen years old... I know that many bad things have happened, but we still achieved a better future which is now our present... ", with a soft smile she tied the headband to his forehead, "Don't worry too much about the past, because it will only stop you from living in the present. And if you don't live in the present you can't work for a better future. That's what I can tell you", she gave him a short hug and smiled.

"Wise words for-"

"Someone as young as me?", she giggled, "I've already heard that. Sorry for interrupting though... I should be packing and preparing now. I still need a plan to get out of the village secretly. Feel free to stay or leave", the girl bowed, turned and wanted to leave as Enma stopped her.

"Do you still want my help?"

She smiled: "I'd be honored... ", Enma hadn't been her first choice, but now she had a feeling that he could be a really good companion. Maybe he was a blessing in disguise...

"I decided to accept your request, you may sign the contract... ", he pulled out a small scroll from under his tiger skin vest, "Let me just summon Masao. He is taking care of the contract... This might take a minute or two... It's been too long since I've been summoned to negotiate a contract..."

He opened the scroll and skipped through some of it's contents. After a while he placed the scroll on the ground and rolled it out. A second later a puff of smoke came from the scroll, revealing a baboon. The animal was about Bara's size and looked just as ferocious as Enma. He was dressed quite similar to his king but carried a large scroll on the back.

The baboon yawned, displaying his big and sharp teeth: "So there is finally some work to do, ey? I was just asking myself if I should keep this scroll or not... "

"Just keep following my orders and we'll be fine, Masao. Give me the contract... ", Enma reached out his hand, waiting for the item.

The baboon chuckled: "You know I'm just kidding... ", he handed over the scroll before looking at the girl, "So this is our new friend? I've never seen you allow someone so young to sign the contract... "

"That is none of your business, Masao. I am your king and I make the decision... ", he turned to Bara. Placing the scroll on the next best table he opened it, revealing a list of names: "Here", he pointed to an empty space in the list, "You sign your name and leave your fingerprints with your blood."

"Is it important to sign with the name I was born?", she created a small blade of ice.

"Why are you asking?", Enma spoke.

"I suffer of amnesia. I don't remember anything that happened before I was eleven. I have only one hint to my family and that is something like a tattoo on my ankle... "

"Then draw that tattoo and leave your fingerprints. That should work as well", Masao had walked up to the others.

Bara cut her thumb and spread blood on her palm. Then she proceeded as she had been told, leaving a picture of her tattoo and her fingerprints in blood on the paper.

"Well done", the girl was finally finished, "I'll take this again", the baboon took and sealed the scroll again, "I guess you won't need me anymore so I'll be going. I'll take care that the others are informed", he waved and disappeared again in a puff of smoke.

"Are we finished now?", Bara looked at the cut in her finger. It was nearly done with healing, her self-healing process looked like it was slowly working again.

"Not yet. I want you to summon one of my kind. It's better to take care that you can summon at least one of my species before we leave. If you should ever get into trouble when I'm not around that should come in handy."

"Are you going to leave me after that?", she looked a bit afraid.

"I'll stay with you for now but I'm pretty sure that you won't be able to summon me without some practice. Since you said that you have little time now you won't get a chance to train for now. But if you are able to summon at least one monkey, he will be able to help you. He can give you support in combat, help you with practicing or carry on messages for you. But you can talk about that to the monkey you have summoned then. It's better to check now if you can handle the absolute basic of summoning... Now you need to sacrifice a bit of blood to summon a living creature. Spread the blood on your palm and press it against a wall, the floor or something else. Then you gather your chakra in your palm and call upon the living creature you wish to see. I think you get the idea since you have managed to summon me with the Kokuo Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Now go on and try... "

Again Bara did as she was told, pressing her palm onto the table. Out of the summoning smoke appeared a six inch small, cute and brown monkey. It was a pygmy Marmoset. Curiously it waggled it's tail while looking around and giving away squeaky sounds.

"Should I have used more chakra?... ", somehow she felt embarrassed.

"You did just as I expected, but I guess this will do until you can get some practice. You have summoned Masaki. She might be small, but don't you underestimate her. Even if she can't talk the human language she does understand everything you say. She moves very fast and swiftly without being detected by anyone... ", the small monkey climbed Bara's shoulder, "She seems to like you. You can use her as a messenger, spy or to fetch you the keys for your handcuffs if you get caught. You get the idea... Maybe we can practice on our way to that guy you want to save a little more. Anyway I'll explain you the different types of saru-nin you can summon on the way", he sighed, "For now we need to prepare for the journey and find a way out of this village, is that right?"

"That's correct... ", she patted Masaki's head and the little monkey liked it, "I know that a team from Konoha is already on it's way to Gaara and I planned to catch up and join them. I have a way to find them so don't bother that. Our biggest issue is to leave Suna without anybody noticing. I know that they will notice as soon as my clone disappears and that will happen as soon as we leave the desert. I can't keep the shadow clone over a longer distance than that", suddenly her stomach growled. Blushing she held her stomach, that had been embarrassing.

"You're hungry?", Enma tilted his head to the side.

"I haven't eaten since this noon... That was over seven hours ago... Can I offer you something while I'm at it?", she walked into the kitchen. Luckily there was still enough food left there.

"Sure... Masaki you can leave now", the little monkey squeaked and climbed Bara's head before disappearing again in a puff of smoke.

Together they ate something while talking about a way to get out of the village. Afterwards they packed food for their journey. Bara changed her clothes and was now wearing her combat attire. She even tied her Suna band to her upper arm so she wouldn't get mistaken for a missing nin. As she was packing everything else she needed, she noticed that something was missing. She couldn't find her weapon. But where had she left it?!

A few seconds later it dawned to her that the staff must have been left in the flower shop since that incident: "Enma, I need to go to my workplace. I think my weapon is there. Unfortunately it's in the middle of the village and everybody would see us. I can use Henge to disguise myself but I don't know how to get you there... "

"Don't worry about that. I'm a master of Henge. I can disguise myself too. We can go to your workplace and proceed immediately with leaving."

"Then that's what we'll do!", she gave him a determined smile, "Let's go!"

Bara grabbed her backpack and climbed Enma's back. The monkey king swiftly jumped off the balcony to some rooftops, landing in a dark alley not too far away from Chiyo's flower shop. There they both disguised themselves as normal citizens of Sunagakure. They had the image of some random people they had passed by not too long ago.

Casually they walked and limped to the back entrance of the flower shop. Unfortunately the door was locked and Bara's keys were also inside of the building.

"Sorry Chiyo-sama, but it's for a good reason", the girl pushed some water into the lock and let it freeze there. Within seconds the lock was broken and they could enter the building, "Wait a minute or two, I should find it pretty fast", the monkey grunted approvingly.

It took Bara about fifteen minutes to find her staff and secure it in her belt: "Got it! Let's head out."

Five minutes later both of them stood not too far away from the north exit of the village, watching the guards. Since the night had fallen a while ago they could hide quite well. Back in Gaara's apartment they had discussed different tactics how to get past the guards, but hardly one of them seemed to fit the situation. On the other side they couldn't turn back now either. How the hell were they to get out of the village?!...

* * *

**Geez! If it isn't an old acquaintance of ours? Who would have thought to see Enma once again?^^ **

**But how the hell are they going to get out of there? I have a really bad feeling about this...**

**By the way – If you wonder what exactly a pygmy Marmoset is, just go to wikipedia or google it, thank you ;D

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**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Bara: RUN!**

**Enma: Don't have to tell me that twice...

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**

**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers =D**


	22. Sandstorm

White Rose

**Woah! I'm quite exhausted from writing this chapter. It's already late here in Austria and I'll go to sleep after uploading this ^^**

**So, yeah, monkeys! They are not my favorite animals (not at all O.o) but I've thought about it for hours and days and weeks... Monkeys aren't that bad you know? You people just gotta give 'em a chance. I bet I can show you that my decision was a good one. Besides of that: Those poor animals need some love too, you know? D:**

**Anyway, for you guys who were wondering what exactly she had wanted to summon. It was the bird king/queen. She had wanted to have a contract with birds to fly her out of Suna because it would have been the easiest way.**

**A really, really great thank you to the people who reviewed from last time until now: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, aquamarine-acaia, enapets21 and Sandra1920499**

**This chapter a special thanks goes to my boyfriend who helped me with this chapter by giving me a great idea ^^ THANK YOU!!!! And thank you for always beta-reading this stuff, even if it's late in the night and you're tired! Love you!**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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_

Sandstorm

"How the hell are we going to get through there?", Bara whispered, watching the guards patrolling, "They've doubled the amount of shinobi since Gaara is gone... ", sighing she turned to Enma, "Any idea?"

"Are you really sure you want to do this? I can tell we'll have a hard time getting out of here... ", the monkey kept an eye on the guards himself.

"Absolutely... If I turn back I'll regret it, that's for sure... I don't know what I would do if I should lose him, especially when I haven't tried to get him back... I'm definitely not going to back off now! So? Do you have any suggestions?"

"None that can bring us out of Suna without getting discovered at a certain point... We could try to run away as soon as they find out. They'll try to stop us by engaging us in combat and if we're unlucky we won't be able to get away at all... "

"I wished we could just walk out casually, like nothing was wrong... If we disguise ourselves as animals they'll be suspicious in no time since there are hardly any around... I feel kinda cursed... ", Bara sighed helplessly, "So it's going to be a sneak around and run like hell when they see us?"

"Approximately... You don't happen to know some of those guards, do you?"

She shook her head: "I'm not even an official Kunoichi of Suna... "

Enma raised an eyebrow: "I'll ask you another time about that... We'll have to avoid talking to anyone of them. Disguised as guards we'll walk out the gates and then try to follow one of the patrol routes. By the time we are discovered we have to try and use Kawarimi no Jutsu to make up some space and distract the shinobi. After that we'll see where we'll be getting to... ", he turned to the girl, "Did you understand everything?"

She nodded before taking out the pendant from her pouch. This time it looked deep orange. At this rate it would turn red by tomorrow. Biting her lip she pushed chakra into the material to check for the direction. Again it pointed to the north: "We're heading north... ", with a sad smile she tied the item around her neck, hiding it under her clothes, "I'm ready. Let's go... "

Both of them performed Henge to disguise themselves like guards. Leaving their hideout they walked casually to the village's exit. Well, almost. Even though Bara was disguised she couldn't stop limping. Sure, the pain in her leg was less than some hours ago in the hospital and was now more bearable. Nevertheless her wound was still present, making casual walking not very easy. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth she tried her best to ignore the pain, '_Come on! Get yourself together! You might have to deal with much worse in the future! You can't let yourself get weak over something like this! Hell, it's not even broken!!_'

As they reached the gateway she had managed to make herself walk almost normally. About every fifth or sixth step her knee would buckle slightly. The guards at the entrance gave Bara and Enma a nod and both of them replied with the same gesture. So far so good.

Slowly they made their way through the pass. The high walls on each side of their way made the girl nervous. If they should get caught before they left the pass an escape would be impossible. Like the pain in her leg wasn't enough her nerves were slowly wrecking. Each step they took closer to the exit made her more nervous and the pain worse. Drops of sweat slowly built on her forehead as another team of guards passed them.

Enma had noticed how tense his companion had become: "Try to relax... It's not far anymore. I can see the desert from here... ", he whispered, trying to calm her down.

"Easier said than done... ", adjusting the position of her eyes she noticed that the monkey was right. About a minute of walking was separating them from the exit, even less than a minute, '_Just keep it all together for another minute! Just a few more steps! Relax... _'

"**Hey you!**", a male voice called out to them, making Bara lose her concentration. Immediately her knee flexed which resulted in losing her balance. If it hadn't been for Enma she would be most probably sitting in the sand, looking ridiculous. He placed her back on her feet while the voice's owner walked up to them: "Are you okay? You seem to be injured."

Bara turned to the approaching man: "I am fine, thank you", to hear herself talking with a male voice was pretty strange, but luckily she had already experienced something like that. It looked like practicing her confession for Gaara came in handy for more than just the obvious reasons.

"Someone should check on you", the man was now just a few feet away from them.

She eyed the man and thought that he looked familiar: "I have already been to the hospital not too long ago. They said I was fine again", more or less the truth, "We will continue patrolling now, if we may... ", they turned around.

"Wait! Both of you!", his voice was filled with authority. Seemed like he was in charge here. It was better to do what he said.

Both of them turned back to face him: "Yes?", Enma was the one to talk because Bara was getting extremely nervous. Carefully she looked at the man, trying to remember where she had seen him.

"Your chakra signatures... They are unfamiliar to me... ", had he discovered them?! "Usually you are not here at the north gate, are you?", his facial expression turned into a glare.

Shit! This didn't look good, but there was still a chance. Better not blow the disguise too early: "No, sir. Usually we are assigned to guard the eastern entrance... ", Enma was mentally preparing for a fight.

"Give me your names and ranks... ", the man was getting suspicious.

Finally the girl remembered him: "But Baki-sama, don't you remember us?", she tried her best, but acting wasn't really her thing. Bara preferred the truth at any time and in any situation: "I feel disappointed... We were your students back in the academy", hopefully that would buy them some time to prepare for what was to come.

"You were?", Baki raised an eyebrow

"It's been some years, but yes... ", silently she swallowed the saliva that had collected in her mouth. It didn't look like he would buy it completely. Sure, Bara had a point there since Baki tutored in the academy, but the other part...

"You should tell me your names. I'm sure I'll remember you then... "

"He's not buying it... ", Enma's voice was so low that even she could barely hear it, "He'll attack soon... "

"Saburo and Tadashi, both Chuunin rank... "

Without any warning a bunch of Shuriken hit Enma and Bara, making their bodies fall limp to the ground. Baki walked to the bodies and passed them as they disappeared in a puff of smoke and only a bunch of sand and rocks remained. So they wanted to flee... Like he'd let that happen! Gathering three men he went to follow them.

Not too far from the village's walls he spotted the enemy and a hint of a sandstorm. They were heading north, directly into the raging sand. Inwardly he grinned. He knew that they couldn't flee through the sandstorm. The enemy will be forced to go back together with him, chakra cuffs shackling them. And back in Suna he would take them to interrogation.

Bara was on Enma's back and he was running straight to north: "There's a sandstorm ahead and we're being followed. Any ideas?"

"I know some safe spots in the desert, but we'll have to go through the storm before we reach it. I just hope they won't try and follow us... Can't we go faster? I think they will catch up soon", worriedly she tightened her grip on him while stealing a glance back to their pursuers.

Enma growled: "I'm afraid it's too late for that... ", he tried to dodge a gush of wind that had come from Baki. Unfortunately a part of the attack hit both of them, forcing them apart. The attack had caused only some slight scratches but their transformation technique had been dissolved.

Baki and his team stopped their movement as they reached the distant attack range: "**You can't flee into the sandstorm! Surrender and we will not harm you any further!**"

"I'm afraid he's right... ", the monkey had walked up to his companion.

She stood up slowly: "Let that be my problem... ", she looked determined.

To Bara's and Enma's fortune a part of the sandstorm had already reached them. Together with the darkness it made seeing the two of them properly really hard for the Suna-nin. Unfortunately they couldn't see very good either.

"**Sorry, but you'll have to get us personally, if you want us!**", without pulling out her weapon she went into battle stance.

Baki gritted his teeth. Not enough that he couldn't stop Gaara's abduction. NO! Now this girl was making fun of him! He was angry. He could tell that she was young by analyzing her voice, but he never was somebody to underestimate his opponent: "I want to take care of that loudmouth... They'll come running anyway in a few minutes... Stay back... ", concentrating for a second he released another gush of deadly sharp wind, "Kaze no Yaiba... "

Enma grabbed the girl and pulled her away from the attack, dodging it himself: "Are you crazy?!"

Bara just stood up again: "He uses wind, right?"

"Yes, but what are you trying to do?!", he kept an eye on Baki.

"Wind is weak against fire... ", she changed again to battle stance, "I'll try to defend us until the sandstorm reaches us completely. Stay close to me, I don't want you to get hurt... ", she breathed in a great amount of oxygen and concentrated.

Meanwhile Baki had tried to identify his opponents. He couldn't see everything, but until now he could tell that the girl's companion was a summoning creature. No shinobi possesses a tail. He could also tell, that they belonged to a village, but he couldn't identify the symbol. At least not yet...

The sandstorm was near and he would get to see these two as much as he wanted soon enough. Time was on his side: "Secure their escape routes to east and west. They will try to run from the storm. That should distract them enough to get a hold of them. Go!"

Two of his men left him immediately as he sent another wave of wind blades to his opponents.

Bara was just done performing her hand signs as the wind was just a few feet away from her: "Katon: Tatsutate no Mai!"

Enma wanted to pull her away again but stopped as he felt that Baki's attack would be unavoidable this time. Quickly he placed himself in front of the girl as-

**KRRRRPPSSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!**

It looked like Baki's attack had landed a hit. Sand flew to the sky just like a bomb had exploded a second ago, hindering the view. The cloud of sand and dust slowly made its way back down to earth.

Baki felt satisfied. He was sure that he had knocked out his enemy without much effort. He wanted to call his team and order them to get the new prisoners, but stopped as he saw some kind of light coming from the place he had attacked. The sand slowly revealed more of that light. Was that... Fire?!

Enma on the other side had been blinded by the sudden light and still had to regain his sight. The only thing he could sense was a great amount of heat coming from a place not to far in front of him. Besides of that he could only hear Bara's heavy breathing and her voice: "Try to get behind me. I can't control this completely and I need some space to move... ", slowly he made his way behind her.

It took both, Enma and Baki, a while to finally see what was actually happening.

At first sight it looked like a wall of flames was surrounding Bara and her companion, but if a closer look was taken you could see that it was something else. It was a tube of fire, moving round and round. Scales were to see on the tube, making it look somewhat serpentine. To be exactly it was a dragon, biting its own tail, forming a ring. Inside of that ring Bara was moving, keeping the dragon alive. It almost looked like she was dancing.

Every step she was taking, every inch her arms moved through the air, even the slightest twitching of a finger affected the dragon's movement. That's why it wasn't building a perfect circular form, but more a crinkly oval. Sweat drops ran down her face. Enma could see clearly how much concentration she was investing into this. This was surely not the first time she used this technique, but everybody could tell that she hadn't mastered it yet. Her movement was insecure, but she managed to keep the thing working. It even seemed to protect them partly from the sandstorm that had just engulfed them.

"Enma!", her voice ripped the monkey out if his thoughts, "Enma!!"

"Yes?", he focused on her.

"Can you get us through the storm?", she took another deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"It would be easier if I knew where to go to", he gritted his teeth.

"In my backpack", she took a step to the side, "The small pocket on my right side. Try to get the map out that is inside. I'll dissolve the shield as soon as you say we can leave... "

Meanwhile the Suna-nin had watched the show somewhat surprised. None of them had ever seen something like this. As the seconds past away one of them realized that the sandstorm had reached them: "Baki! The storm!"

Said man turned to the voice and then to the raging sand not too far away from them. Gritting his teeth he tried to memorize at least a few details of his enemy before he gave the command for retreating. Luckily the fire lighted the area quite good, enhancing the sight a bit. "Everybody retreat to the village!", he was angry that he had to let his enemy get away.

His men left the scene immediately, making their ways to the village as fast as possible. Baki himself stayed until the sandstorm forced him to leave. If he would ever get the chance to see those two again he would take care that the wouldn't get away anymore. Catching up to his team he thought about the things he had memorized in the last seconds.

One of those shinobi was a summoned creature. It had a tail and seemingly white fur. It also had clothing, but he couldn't tell exactly what species he had seen. The other ninja was a quite young girl with white hair. He even thought to have seen tanned skin. But the rather strange thing about those two were the villages they came from. The animal had a leaf headband and the girl a sand armlet... Hm...

Maybe they had been spies? He couldn't tell without interrogating them. He could only speculate on what purpose they had been in Sunagakure or why they had wanted to flee. First thing he would do when arriving in Suna would be to go and check the records. Unfortunately that would take him all night since there were so many files in the cabinets, but he was determined. Maybe the information he could gather from the girl would help him find out something about the Kazekage's abduction. He was pretty sure that the events were connected to one another. He just had to find out how...

* * *

"Pheeeew... ", Bara wiped away beads of sweat from her face, "We're safe... ", slowly she sank to her knees, sitting down.

"For now... ", Enma walked through the small cave they were occupying, "We were lucky that this cave wasn't too far away to use Shunshin no Jutsu... ", he shifted his eyes to the cave's entrance where the sandstorm was raging.

"You really startled me when you just grabbed me without warning. My concentration was gone instantly together with the shield... You were so fast that I didn't even notice how we got here", she smiled, "That was awesome... Maybe I should learn to do that too. I bet that comes in handy a lot of times... "

"Shunshin no Jutsu is a D rank Nin-Jutsu. It's quite simple. You should be able to learn it pretty fast if you try. At least that's what I think after seeing that little stunt you played not too long ago... ", her turned to face her, "That was quite a show... What was that?"

"The Dance of the burning Dragonshield", she answered bluntly. Why should she lie about it anyway? Enma was her teammate and she trusted him: "It's one of the few protective fire techniques. As a matter of fact a pretty strong shield and very effective against wind techniques since it absorbs them. Attacks using the wind element even fuel the fire, making the shield stronger... If I remember right it's a B rank Nin-Jutsu... ", she stared at the ceiling.

"And why were you- … It actually looked like you were doing some dance... ", the monkey was curious, that was just his nature.

"Fire is a very aggressive element. Usually you just use your chakra to create a flame, shaping it the way you need it. Then you direct it to your opponent and let it follow it's desires to burn whatever it in the way. Using fire for defending is different to that. In order to not hurt people unintentionally it must be controlled at any time. That's what the moves are for. After the flame is ignited and shaped I have to supervise it's every move with my body. Since I am the one that created the flame it reacts to the chakra flow in my system, also can I feel the fire's flow, but for that I have to concentrate on it. If I should loose my concentration the form will fall apart and the fire will follow it's own will again. For safety reasons this technique should always be dissolved by the user when it is no longer needed. I've practiced this Jutsu alone in the dark to get a feeling for everything without being afraid to hurt someone... ", she sighed, "I guess you've noticed that I still need some practice with this technique... I'm just happy that we were in the desert as I lost my concentration... If I had more practice it wouldn't be that hard to concentrate anymore... ", she let her head hang loose.

"Maybe it wasn't perfect, but I think you did quite well", the monkey patted her head.

"Doing that really wrecked my nerves because I didn't want to hurt you... ", Bara hugged her knees, "That Jutsu is a double edged sword... The first time I even hurt myself... "

"You should try to have more self-confidence. I'm sure that would help you... ", he sat next to her, "Aren't you exhausted from using that technique? And how is your chakra level?"

"I'm fine... I have more than enough chakra left. That Jutsu is actually more or less self-preserving. It keeps itself alive by constantly moving. Like I said, I just supervise the fire's movement", yawning she rubbed her eyes, "But I'm a bit sleepy though. I guess that's because of all the excitement today... I'm just not used to such things... "

"The sandstorm will be taking it's time anyway so you just relax and try to sleep. I'll wake you as soon as the storm has passed and then we'll continue our journey... ", he made himself more or less comfortable on a rock, "We'll be faster if I don't have to use Henge. If you can hold tight so I don't have to secure you, I can use my hands to run too. That way we'll be much faster... "

"That's good news... ", the girl yawned again, "Thank you for your help Enma... ", she made herself more comfortable.

"No need to thank me. It was my decision to help you after all... You signed the contract. I am bound to help you anyway."

"I don't care... You're my friend, not my slave... ", closing her eyes she slowly drifted away, "So thank you... ", her head met his shoulder.

After a while her breathing had become deep and slow, '_Fallen asleep already?_... ', he watched her. She looked so defenseless and innocent. Now that he thought of it she really seemed a bit naive. But on the other side he could tell that she was more mature than she looked. Somehow he couldn't help himself. She reminded him of his own children except that those were grown up now and had their own families. Yes... She woke fatherly feelings inside of him, '_You're getting soft, old man._.. '

About an hour passed before the sandstorm ceased. Bara and Enma continued their journey without interruptions or problems. At least for now...

* * *

"What do you mean by -there is nobody registered with such information-?!", an angry male called out to his assistant. It was about eleven in the morning and neither the irritated male nor his assistant had slept last night. Currently they were in the assistant's office.

"I couldn't find any data concerning a young, female Kunoichi with white hair and tanned skin. Neither was there information about a male with similar traits. Light colored hair and dark skin is quite uncommon in Sunagakure. If she were registered we would have found her in no time. You should know that Baki-san. Are you sure she was from Suna? Kumogakure is rather known for people like that", the assistant remained calm.

Baki gritted his teeth: "She wore an armlet with the symbol of the hidden sand. Why should she wear one if she wasn't from here? It's not like we'd give those things away for free, are we?!"

"No, we don't... ", the assistant looked at a number of papers.

"What are you reading there? I thought you were done with the shinobi data... "

"This is data of a civilian in Suna. I started with some of the newer entries about two hours ago... ", he put the papers into a folder, "I think this is the person you are looking for, but I also think that you won't find what you are hoping to find, Baki-san", he stood up from his chair and placed the folder on his desk.

"Where are you going?", Baki stared at the file in front of him.

"I have matters I need to attend to... We will see us later, Baki-san", he left his office.

Baki took the folder and opened it curiously. Quickly he read through some of the contents. As he was done he cursed lowly. A girl from Uwasa with no known powers... He couldn't believe that since he had seen that fire wall. And the girl on the photography in front of him was definitely the one he had seen last night. No special parents, no special past... She didn't seem special at all...

Maybe he was wrong after all? Current residence... The Kazekage's apartment?! That raised his suspicion again. Why would Gaara let somebody into his apartment? Maybe she was a spy, sent to seduce him... It seemed to be the only reason that came to his mind even though he felt somewhat ridiculous thinking that. After all the Kazekage never showed any kind of interest towards women...

Unimportant! He had to find out more about this girl! Bara Aihara... The last entrance to her file seemed quite interesting to him. She was taken to hospital with sever injuries just a few days before the attack. Maybe he could find out more there. Hasty he left the office, taking the folder with him.

A few minutes later he arrived at the hospital. The nurse behind the counter greeted him: "Greetings Baki-san. How can I help you?"

"I am searching for a dossier on a girl that left the hospital recently. Her name is Bara Aihara"

"Of course. Give me a minute... ", the woman took out a list of names and read through it, "Ah, I found her... Oh, my... That's odd... "

"What's odd?", Baki to a step closer to the counter, trying to see what the nurse was seeing.

"The girl you are talking about never left the hospital. She is still here in her room in the eighth floor. Somebody must have made a mistake when giving the information to you... ", the woman pouted.

She was still here?! He couldn't imagine that: "I need to know in which room she is!"

"Ah, sure... 175B on the eighth floor... Is there anything else?", the woman raised her face only to see that the man was already gone.

Just a minute later Baki was on the eighth floor, searching for the said room. 171, 172, 173,... Huh?! There was an Anbu in front of her room?! She was getting more and more suspicious by the second. Maybe the Kazekage had found out about her purpose? Ah, no! He was speculating again. Maybe he was totally wrong about everything... Well, there was just one way to find out!

"Lizard?", Baki walked up to said man.

"Baki-san", he bowed his head, "How can I help you?"

"I want to see the girl, Bara Aihara... I have reason to believe that she is somehow involved in the Kazekage's abduction... Are you here to keep her from fleeing?", Baki was stern.

"The Kazekage ordered us to protect her and keep her from leaving. The reason for this is to be kept a secret. But I for instance believe that she is not involved into that event... ", he could still remember the look on the girl's face when Temari stopped her from going after Gaara. So much dread and pain had been etched to those eyes of hers...

"Us?", Baki raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Dog is inside with her. We don't leave her alone since she tried to escape once... ", Lizard narrowed his gaze. Back then Bara had nearly killed herself. The Kazekage wouldn't have been very amused if that would have happened, he could tell.

"I see... Let me in. I want to talk to her... "

Lizard nodded and opened the door. Immediately an annoyed squeal was heard. A female voice followed: "You're cheating! How can you always win without cheating?!"

Obviously it was Bara. She was currently playing a card game with Dog: "I'm not cheating."

"Sure you are! I bet Lizard can prove that you're cheating!", she turned her head to the door only to see somebody standing there, "Oh, erm... Hello... How can I help you?"

"I am here to ask you a few questions", Baki started intensively at her.

Dog stood up from his chair and nodded his head: "Baki-san... ", said man nodded back, "We'll continue this game later... ", he walked into a corner of the room and leaned against a wall.

Baki walked up to the chair that the Anbu had been occupying just a moment ago: "Name and Age?", he stared at the girl.

'_Not a very nice way to start a conversation... _', that guy somehow scared her, "Bara, age fifteen... ", it was most probably better to do what he wanted.

Baki kept asking questions about her and Bara answered most of them truthfully. She couldn't tell why, but it seemed to irritate him.

"Where have you been last night?", he was almost glaring at her.

The girl gulped: "I was here... sleeping... "

"I can confirm that", Dog had raised his voice.

She was lying! He knew she was lying! But she answered so truthfully and even an Anbu confirmed her answer... Something wasn't right and he wanted to find out: "What relationship do you have with the Kazekage?"

She blushed: "I don't want to answer that... ", sadly she averted her gaze.

"Are you somehow involved in his abduction?", he remained persistent.

Her mood changed: "**What?! N**-"

He cut her sentence: "I saw you last night at the northern entrance to the village!"

'_**SHIT!**_', had she been caught or was he just bluffing?!

"I was here in this bed last night!", now she remained persistent. After all it was the truth. SHE had been in that bed, even if is she was just a Kage Bunshin.

Baki slowly lost his patience: "You had somebody with you! I saw you! **I even fought you!**", harshly he stood up from the chair, making it tilt over.

Okay, now she was afraid of him: "I-I was here... ", she shivered.

"Baki-san, please calm down... ", Dog tried to make the situation better.

"I want the truth!", Baki grabbed the girl's throat and pulled her out of the bed, "**Tell me the truth!**", her feet didn't touch the ground.

"**Baki-san!!!**", Dog left his corner to help Bara.

"C-Can't... breathe... ", she struggled to free herself.

As Dog reached the two of them Bara's body disappeared in a puff of smoke: "What the-?!"

"She was a shadow clone... I should have known... ", Baki growled. He had been too angry to think clearly.

The Anbu stared at the spot where Bara had been just a second ago as a voice resounded from the door that had been opened for a while now: "What happened here?... I want answers... ", it sounded not very amused...

* * *

Some time had passed as the clone's chakra reached Bara: "**Damn!**"

"You yelled into my ear... ", Enma complained while running over hot sand.

"Sorry, but they found out about my Kage Bunshin and it looks like I'm in big trouble... "

"They would have found out anyway now, we're reaching the end of the desert", his hands and feet slowly met green grass.

"That's true... I'll just have to explain everything as soon as I go back. Gaara is more important now anyway!", carefully she eyed the pendant in her hand. It was red. She was carrying it in her hand to constantly check if he was still okay since they had left the cave in the desert. Pressing the item firmly into her palm by forming a fist she tightened her grip on Enma.

'_Don't you dare leaving me alone Gaara... Don't you dare going away from me now... _', her heart was beating dreadfully. He wasn't okay at all, she knew that. The pendant wasn't lying. As a matter of fact, it couldn't. But oh, how she wished it was lying!...

Enma jumped up a tree as they entered a forest: "This is my kind of terrain... Hold on! I'll speed it up a bit... "

"Okay!", she used the arm with the pendant in hand to secure herself better from falling off his back.

Oh, how she wished her beloved was okay... How she wished she would arrive just in time to save him... How she wished he had never been the host of that demon...

NO! She retracted that wish. If it hadn't been for the creature inside of him she most probably wouldn't have met him. He wouldn't be the person he was now as she wouldn't be the person she was now. No. The demon was part of everything that had brought them to where they were now. Maybe it wasn't the best place to be, maybe it wasn't the best time to live or the best event to experience... But it was part of both their lives! And she would take care that everything would work out! She wanted to fight for a future together with him! YES!

With this thoughts in mind she hadn't realized yet, that pain was going through her palm and blood was dripping onto Enma's clothing...

* * *

**Erm... Looks like she got herself in trouble. And Baki too, ey? He should have tried to calm himself, but I guess he was just too agitated...**

**Hopefully everything will turn out well... Hopefully... sniff**

**Oh and sorry for not having exactly the things in the story I wrote down in the last sneak preview. I just couldn't find a way to integrate that. But the idea of it was in this chapter. I hope that's enough D:

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**Sneak Preview:**

**Bara: Enma, please stop...

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**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers =D**


	23. Defeat

White Rose

**This time I don't have much to say since my cat got hit by a car on Wednesday and died. I hope you understand...**

**A great thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, aquamarine-acaia and enapets21**

**Thanks to icanwalkonwater for the fave**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you **

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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Defeat

Pain... Pain!... Pain!!! The nerves in her palm screamed for attention for about half a minute now. Finally her mind acknowledged that something wasn't right with her hand. '_Ouch! What the... ?_', she wondered why her palm was hurting. And that warm feeling right where it hurt... What was that? Was that... blood?! Was she bleeding? Why would she... ? Wait... The pendant!

The girl's body seemed to realize what had happened before her mind. Her muscles slowly became limp, making her hold on Enma slowly loosen. Her lung's activities became weak and her heart refused to beat the way it had done before. She was still living but it felt like she was dying. Somwhow she felt like she was suffocating...

"Enma... ", her voice was nearly inaudible. The monkey hadn't heard her because of the noise his running and jumping was making. Now even her vocal chords gave up: "Enma... Please... stop... ", this time barely a tiny amount of air left her lips. '_Breathe!_', she was breathing but somehow it had no effect.

It was no use. She was too weak. Slipping away from the monkey's back she could feel her body falling. Staring into the sky she asked herself just one question while drops of tears were building in her eyes, '_Why?_... '

Of course Enma had noticed that his companion wasn't on his back anymore. Swiftly he dug his claws into a branch and used it to make a quick turn. Leaping from one branch to the another he caught Bara's seemingly limp body out of the air: "Are you okay?!", no answer came. Had they been attacked without him noticing? Hm... He couldn't feel anyone near them. After hiding on one of the trees he scanned the area again. Nothing...

He looked at the girl in his arms. She had paled and her eyes looked empty, tears running down her cheeks: "Are you okay?", again no answer. Her muscles were completely relaxed, no power in them. Well, except for her left hand that was clenching a fist, blood dripping from her palm. It seemed like that part of her body had frozen in that position. Something was not right. The girl in his arms wasn't herself anymore. At the moment she was a mere puppet, empty and soulless. She was simply... broken...

Carefully he placed her on the broad branch he was standing on, leaning her back against the tree's trunk: "Did something happen? You have to tell me kid or I can't help you!", he grabbed her hand to take care of whatever injury she would have there. This was where Bara showed a first reaction. Her eyes shifted to her and Enma's hand: "You have to relax your hand. You have a wound that needs to be taken care of... "

Slowly she shook her head, biting her lip. She came back to herself a bit. Bara had stopped asking for the why. Currently she tried to keep her hopes up, denying the facts. She wasn't ready to admit what had caused her wound, nor was she ready to see with her own eyes that her hopes might be useless. As a matter of fact, they were. But no... She couldn't accept it. Increasing the pain in her palm she just clenched her fist tighter until her knuckles turned white. The physical pain didn't matter to her now, she just tried saving herself from the mental pain that would crush her completely. A tiny sob escaped her lips as she pressed her eyelids together, ridding herself from the salty liquid in her eyes.

Enma couldn't tell why she was like this. She was sorrowful, grief etched to her whole being. He wanted to comfort her, but for that he needed to know what the matter was. Obviously her sorrow was connected to her bleeding palm, but not to the actual wound: "We need to fix that. Open your palm and show me."

She shook her head, this time a bit faster. Her lips formed a weak: "No... ", she just couldn't accept it. Not yet and most probably never in the future. She just denied it. And as long as she held her palm closed and her fist clenched she could keep denying it. She didn't even dare to think that it could be true.

The monkey grabbed her wrist with one hand and tried to open the fist with the other: "Let me help you", he was careful to not cause her more physical pain, be it by the injury or his sharp claws.

"No!", her voice had gained some power even if it wasn't very much. The girl tried to free herself from his grip but her attempts were weak and useless: "Don't open, please!", she sobbed heartbreakingly. But it had been too late since all strength had left her hand. The blood loss had weakened it and since she hadn't opened her palm it had been impossible for the wounds to close.

Enma had opened her fist without much effort, revealing a small puddle of blood and a crystalline pendant. The item was shattered and it's shards had dug themselves deep into her flesh. "You shouldn't have clenched your fist that hard. You broke it and hurt yourself... ", his eyes shifted to her face.

She looked worse than before. Her eyes were filled with despair and her lips trembled uncontrollably. She was staring at the broken pendant. Between sobs she kept repeating different words: "No... Why?... ", her whole body started shaking.

The monkey carefully pulled out the shards from her palm: "This pendant must have been very precious to you... "

How could it not be precious to Bara?! The pendant was somewhat equal to her beloved's life! It had shown her if he was okay or not... It had shown... And exactly that was the reason for her grief. The pendant was broken, the material burst into pieces. The undeniable proof lay in her palm and it could mean just one thing... Gaara... He... He was...

Enma was just done removing all shards from her hand as she retracted her arm. "No... No... **No**... **NO!**", she was kneeling, hammering her fists against the branch. "**That idiot!** How could he do that?!", whatever her fists touched started to burn for a few seconds, leaving small and black pits.

The monkey was rather surprised by her sudden change of mood, but he could guess what was wrong with her. First she had been in pure shock and most probably denying. Now she was angry and sad at the same time. He remembered feeling the same when his friend, the Third had died...

Bara's heart was shattered, just like the pendant, smashed into millions of pieces. "Why now? You idiot!! Why did you die before I could even tell you how I feel?!", again her fists made contact with the wood, leaving a bigger hole with every hit, "I hate you! I HATE YOU!!!", she didn't mean it, but somehow she couldn't think of anything else. She felt lost and angry. Really angry. Angry that he died, angry that she hadn't told him about her love for him and mostly angry that she hadn't been able to stop his death. All that she had worked for, all the things she had done... The training with Chiyo-sama... Repairing his seal... The kiss they had shared... She sobbed. Everything had gone down the drain by the second he had died. And she felt so guilty about his death...

She knew that it wasn't possible to bring him back anymore... She knew because she had searched her library for an answer to this scenario more than once. There was none... At least none that would please her. If she wanted to have him back somebody else would have to die for him and she couldn't do that. Sure, she'd give her own life for him, but for that she had to get his corpse and learn how to do it. Until she would be able to perform the right technique it would be already too late. Anyway it wouldn't lead to what she wished... A future together with him... That wish had been crushed into pieces now...

But what was her life without him?! She had stopped punching the branch, her eyes staring at the mess she had left. For her it wasn't worth living. Life would degenerate to a mere passing of time until her own death would come to her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to open up her heart to any other person than Gaara. She wouldn't be able to love anybody like she had loved him... Yes... Her heart was broken far beyond repair...

She snickered sarcastically: "So much for saving him... He's dead... ", more tears ran down her face, "Gaara is dead... "

Enma had watched her outburst of fury. He knew that it was best to let her do that. He could tell how she felt now, at least a bit. He had lost a dear friend of his and he could remember very well how he had felt on that day. The girl in front of him had just lost the person she loved the most in this world... That was much worse than his loss. She needed some time for herself now. That would help her cope with the first shock. The problem was that he couldn't leave her alone then and there in the forest. It was dangerous because of all the creatures and other shinobi that would cross their way sooner or later.

Softly he planted his hand on her shoulder: "I'm really sorry for you, but we have to go somewhere else before we get attacked here. It's dangerous if we stay too long... "

Bara just sat there, empty eyes staring at her hands. The wound in her palm wasn't bleeding anymore. She didn't really feel like going anywhere now. Nor did she feel like doing anything. What she felt were agony and exhaustion. The mental pain, the sleepless night, the punching and crying had exhausted her. She just felt like sleeping and never getting up again. She wanted to get lost in her dreams... Forget the agony that was tearing her heart apart more and more... Just give up... At least for now... Slowly she closed her eyes, ready to let her mind drift away into nothingness...

Enma sighed. He was just about to grab her as something kicked him, making him fly away from the girl. '_**SHIT!**_', he had been too distracted by Bara's mental state to notice that three ninjas had approached them. Quickly he moved his body while flying and managed to land on another branch.

"That was easy. Is that all you've got?", a male spoke. Obviously it was the one that has kicked the monkey king.

"Don't underestimate him, Keru. I bet he can cause us trouble. We should just take the girl and leave", a second male appeared next to his friend.

A female pushed the two aside: "We can go after I'm done with her. I have a score to settle with this sweet looking bitch... You two take care of that... Thing... ", she seemed rather unhappy. All three of them looked like regular shinobi except for the female who was wearing an eye patch.

"Don't kill her Midori. The Master said that we need her alive. Orders are orders... ", the second male had spoken.

"Shut up Ryoga! And don't start with your usual – it was all your own fault shit!!", she pointed her finger to Bara, "This little wench is the reason I lost my eye! I'll pay her back if you want or not! And believe me, there are much worse things than death!"

"Just don't overdo it. You know that our friend won't be very happy when we deliver her in a bad shape. And our master won't be pleased about that either... ", Ryoga readied himself for combat.

"Don't you tell me what I am allowed to do or not!", she female gritted her teeth, "You just take care that I don't get disturbed!"

Bara had watched the argument more or less apathetically, eyes half opened. She didn't care if something happened to her now. She had already resigned before those three had entered the scene. Nevertheless she couldn't stop thinking that they looked kind of familiar to her.

Enma didn't like what he was hearing nor what he was seeing. He had to protect his companion. He rushed over to Bara but was stopped by the two males before he could reach her.

"Where do you think you're going, monkey?", Keru asked playfully, a sly smirk on his lips. He looked rather amused: "I hope you give me a good fight. It's been too long since I had my last combat... "

Enma snorted: "I don't have time for you brats. You three better screw off before I get angry."

The monkey king jumped away only to dodge an attack from Ryoga: "We have a mission and I will take care that this mission will be fulfilled. Since you are in the way of this we will have to fight you", he pointed his weapon towards Enma, "Don't go near the girl... "

Enma tried again to get to Bara but was then finally engaged in combat. Whatever he did to save her was no use. He was forced away by either Keru or Ryoga.

Meanwhile Midori had walked up to the white haired girl, arrogance and confidence of victory in her eyes. Roughly she grabbed her chin and yanked her face up so she could look into her eyes: "Do you remember me you stupid, little bitch?"

Bara looked unconcernedly at the girl in front of her. One, lime-green eye glared at her while blond bangs danced in front of it. This woman was familiar, but she didn't really care about it: "Should I?"

Midori gritted her teeth: "You actually dare to say something like that?!", she grabbed Bara's hair and yanked it down, but just enough so she could still face her, "Back in Uwasa. You were a waitress working at the local inn... ", playfully she ran a finger up and down the girl's throat, "Anything popping into your mind now?"

Back then she had seen so many faces. She remembered none of them except for the people who came constantly: "No... "

Midori let the girl go and took a step backwards before kicking Bara directly into her face: "Damn bitch!", her kick had been so hard that it had sent the girl flying through the air.

Bara's back crushed into a tree before she landed roughly on one if it's branches. Enma had screamed her name and tried to help her, but the two male shinobis made it quite impossible. The monkey had to do something fast.

The blonde jumped to Bara's position while she had remained there how she had landed: "What's wrong with you, wench?", Midori grabbed her throat and pulled her to her knees so they could face each other, "Why aren't you afraid of me?! I could do whatever I wanted now and your companion isn't going to help you! Last time you had that fucking redhead to take care of you, but this time nothing can save you!"

Bara's eyes opened up a bit more: "You?", she finally remembered this woman, but she still didn't care much, "You made me trip back then... Some shinobi from the inn went after you... I remember you... "

"Good that you haven't forgotten me. You know, if it hadn't been for you and your friend, the redheaded jerk, that would have never happened to me. Those shinobi would never have attacked me and I would still have my right eye! It's all your fucking fault!!", the blonde spat into Bara's face, "I so fucking hate you!!! Especially that – I'm oh so innocent smile of yours! You make me sick!", she slapped her hard, "Suffer you little bitch! **Suffer!!**"

Midori started punching and kicking Bara. Since this woman seemed rather weak on the physical side the attacks didn't cause much damage to the girl. The pain was bearable too, but Bara just couldn't help herself, she smiled sadly.

"I'm beating you to hell so why the fuck are you smiling?!", the blonde was clearly irritated by that, "Why can't I see at least a tiny bit of fucking fear in your eyes?!"

Bara just kept her lips in that sad smile of hers: "Because I'm already suffering more than I ever thought I could... I have lost the most precious person in my entire life... There is nothing in the world you could do to me to make it worse now... Sorry if I can't satisfy your strange needs... ", tears stained her face again.

Midori growled: "You damn little... ", she gritted her teeth before kicking her again in the guts, "**Fine!** The master only said we have to get you alive and nobody else. If you don't care about yourself, maybe you care about your friend! Would you still be so calm and indifferent if I hurt him? Are you going to lay there and do nothing if I am going to go and kill him?", an evil smirk crept across her face.

Bara's eyes widened in shock. She had totally forgotten Enma. That woman wouldn't dare hurt him, would she? Quickly she shifted her gaze upon Midori. The cruelty in her face made her cringe. She would! She would really go an kill her companion just for her own entertainment! Bara couldn't let that happen! Enma had nothing to do with this! Besides of that he was her friend now and she couldn't let a friend down. Especially now she couldn't afford loosing more people she cared about. If this woman wanted to pick on someone then she should pick on Bara and no one else... Even if she saw no more sense in her life because her beloved was dead, she couldn't stop caring for others more than herself. She had always been like that and she guessed that would never change...

Begging her aching heart for forgiveness and thinking of Gaara she slowly stood up. She knew that she would have enough time to grief after she took care that Enma would be okay: "Don't you dare hurt him. Pick on me if you have to please your wicked cravings... ", carefully she discarded her backpack and offered the woman to attack her.

Midori just smirked: "Well, well, well... I guess I just found your weak spot, haven't I?", she turned around and headed for the monkey and her two companions.

"**No!**", Bara immediately followed her even if pain ran through her body, she didn't mind that pain anymore. Quickly she pulled out her staff, passed the blonde and stopped her by disabling one of her legs. Luckily Midori hadn't cared at all what Bara did so it was rather easy to hit the right spot. She hadn't even managed to dodge it. Probably she wasn't trained in doing that.

Midori on the other side had landed on a branch and leaned with her hand against the tree's trunk. She was fuming of rage: "**What the fuck have you done with my leg?!**"

"I warned you of going near my friend. I will repeat my words for you. If you feel like picking on somebody, you are free to use me as a punching bag, but my friends are absolutely taboo! Same goes for your friends", she turned to the place where Enma and the two men were fighting, "**You guys hear me? Leave him alone!**"

"But I'm having so much fun right now!", Keru just dodged one of the monkey king's attacks.

"We will stop as soon as he stops. Is that a deal?", Ryoga seemed to be the more intelligent one of the team.

"**Are you fucking crazy?! Let's kill that monster, knock this bitch unconscious and leave already! I'm fucking pissed of this whole situation!**", the blonde shouted at the top of her lungs. The next thing she knew was that she was laying on the branch and all her limbs were unable to move.

Bara bent down so they could see each other's faces. The girl gave the woman a rather nasty look: "You better stay quiet now. You have no right to call my friend a monster... ", her voice was calm though. Then she stood up straight again and turned to the fighting: "Deal! Enma, stop!"

The monkey stopped attacking and so did Keru and Ryoga.

Midori though was more pissed than ever. Before any of the others could even think of opening their mouth to say something she was shouting again: "**You little whore! You dare doing this to me?!**"

"I believe you are not in the position to say something like that... ", Bara was still calm.

"**Are you freaking kidding me?! You're gonna pay for this you freaking slut! Orochimaru-sama is so going to make you pay!!!**", suddenly she bit her lip. She had leaked too much information. None of them had been allowed to mention their master's name in this mission. Not good! Not good at all!

"Gee, thanks Midori! You just blew it!", Keru stated annoyed, but the worst was still to come.

"You work for that snake-bastard?!", Enma's voice sounded agitated.

Bara who had started shivering by the mention of this name stopped as she heard her companion talk. She knew that Enma wasn't very happy to hear this name and the sudden change of his attitude just confirmed that.

"Got a problem with that you old monkey?", Keru spoke while Ryoga thought it was best to stay quiet.

Without any warning Keru got punched in the gut by Enma. The man was sent flying only to land somewhere unconscious. Most probably he had at least broken rib now. The monkey king was extremely dangerous when enraged. And yes, he was enraged, fury dripping from his whole being. With a malicious look on his face he turned to Ryoga: "I'm going to kill you... "

'_Fuck... _', he was outnumbered and somehow he felt that there was no chance he'd survive Enma's attacks now that he was so angry.

"Enma! Calm down!", Bara rushed to her companion as he jumped Ryoga and attacked him.

Ryoga almost couldn't dodge the monkey's first attack. Next thing he knew was that Enma had grabbed his arms and stripped him from his weapons. The man could clearly see the blood lust within the animal's eyes. He couldn't stay cool anymore as panic entered his body. Enma pinned him against a trunk and yanked his head up to expose his throat. Slowly the monkey opened his mouth, presenting his deadly fangs. He wanted to bite off Ryoga's windpipe like a wild animal did with it's prey. To say the truth, he really wasn't himself anymore. Enma's hate against Orochimaru had awakened some of the deepest of his animal instincts, pushing his civilized mind completely aside. At the moment he really was nothing more but a wild, deadly predator.

Just as he was about to kill his opponent Enma's arms were pushed away and Bara appeared in front of him, shielding Ryoga. Unfortunately he was already in motion, his head moving towards the girl, his fangs ready to rip some flesh out of her. The girl reacted quickly by raising her left arm so he wouldn't injure any important part of her body. Viciously he bit her lower arm, making it bleed. A yelp of pain left her lips, making Enma come back to his senses. Surprised and disbelievingly he looked at Bara.

It took him a while before he released her arm, blood dripping from the wound: "Why did you do that? Why did you save that... that... ", he growled.

"I guess I forgot to mention that I am a pacifist. I will not let anybody die in my presence if possible. Be it friend or foe... I hope you understand... Life is too precious to end it forcefully... ", she pressed tears of pain out of her eyes.

"Even now you can say something like that? After all that happened to you?", he made a step backwards, giving her some room to breathe.

"It's just the way I am... ", she turned her head to the side, "Ryoga, you owe me one... "

Ryoga who was shocked by the whole happening just nodded slowly. He was just happy to be still alive.

Enma was just about to say something as he felt a stinging pain in his neck. His hand moved to the pain and made contact with a strange object. Immediately he pulled it out to analyze it: "A tranquilizer dart?!"

"What's wrong?", the girl looked at him and suddenly realized that Midori wasn't swearing anymore. It was absolutely quiet...

"Bara!", the monkey could already feel the sedative kick in, "Run! There must be a fourth person somewhere... ", he staggered before sinking to his knees, "Shit... ", he bent over, making his body meet the branch. He was still conscious, but that wouldn't stay like that very long...

"Enma?!", she rushed over, kneeling next to him, "Are you alright?!"

"Leave... Now... ", it was getting harder and harder for him to stay awake.

"Enma?!", she was afraid. Was he dying on her?! Would she loose another person she cared for?! "Don't die on me! Please!", she cried.

"Oh, he's not dying. It would be a real pity if I killed that old monkey... ", a male voice resounded from behind her and it sounded awfully familiar.

Quickly she turned to the voice: "Toya?!", she couldn't believe who she was seeing, "I thought you were dead!"

Bara slowly stood up while the gray haired boy walked up to her: "No I'm fine", he smiled.

"How is this possible?! And why did you attack Enma?!", she was unable to understand the world anymore. Too much was happening in such a short time. She just couldn't handle all the information she had received.

"Well, actually... ", he rammed a tranquilizer dart into her left upper arm, right above the Suna armlet, "My name is not Toya, like your name is not Bara... ", he caught her limp body. The sedatives were working much faster in her small, female body. As he wanted to pull out the dart he felt that it had somehow entangled itself in the fabric of her armlet. Annoyed he removed it to retrieve the dart.

Enma was still there, seeing what was going on: "You... Die... ", he couldn't talk anymore.

Kabuto just tossed the armlet to the old monkey and smirked: "Keep it, so you won't ever forget what a failure you are... I'll let you alive because Orochimaru-sama would be devastated if he wouldn't be able to kill you himself. I bet we will see each other again soon enough... ", he jumped away with the girl, leaving the old monkey and the three ninja behind.

Enma cursed inwardly before his world went black...

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**Sneak Preview:**

**Temari: What the hell were you thinking?!**

**Baki: I thought she was involved into the Kazekage's abduction!**

**Temari: We'll talk about that later! - You two!**

**Anbu: Yes Ma-am?**

**Temari: How the hell did she get away from here?!

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**

**Please review dear readers. It helps me with my work here.**


	24. Gone

White Rose

**Sorry for the week of delay, but I've been very busy with my job. I've been to Vienna and Munich in a rather short amount of time and I was sooo exhausted that my brain didn't want to work properly. Besides of that I didn't have much time to write there... I'm really, really sorry. .**

**A great thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, invisible-gurl, it's just so awso without me and Sandra1920499**

**Another tanks goes to Blackangel90 for the alert and Kathalla for the fave**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you! ^^**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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_

Gone

Sunagakure hospital with its white and clean halls had become rather uneventful after the Kazekage's abduction. Some injured Shinobi had been brought there right after the event, but since then nothing in particular had happened. No wonder, considering that no ninja had left the village since then. The elders had been too concerned for the village's well being to assign new missions and the required documents for that were mostly private, for Gaara's eyes only. Most of the nurses and doctors were really relaxed and happy about that. There weren't many occasions like this when no half-dead or even dead comrades were brought to them. Yes, it was a pleasant time... Well. except for one room on the eighth floor...

"**What the hell did you just do?!**", an obviously enraged blonde asked disbelievingly.

"Temari, like I already said, I revealed a spy amongst us. The girl who had been here in this room just a few minutes ago was involved into the Kazekage's abduction", a male stated. He was slightly confused of the blonde's behavior.

"**And that's the reason you choked her?! What the hell were you thinking Baki?! And what proof do you have anyway?!**", Temari shouted.

"What proof?", he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Temari never was the one to doubt him. Usually she believed him and trusted his decisions... This seemed strange to him, but he answered nonetheless: "Temari... There is more than one reason that proves the girl's guilt. One: She appeared in Sunagakure just a few months ago. Her file said that she lived in Uwasa before, working in the local inn. Isn't it a real strange coincidence that the inn got burnt down right before she came here? And why of all things would she travel all alone through the desert just to come to Suna? There probably would have been much better placed for her to go. Since she was here for some months now I'm quite sure that had been more than enough time to gather all the information she needed. Two: She fled from this hospital and from the village. Now if she hadn't been a spy or something she just could have walked out casually, no? But no, she fought me. Which brings me somewhat to point three: I wouldn't have killed her, you know that. Neither in combat nor in this room, choking her. The girl in this room was just a shadow clone anyway. It's more than suspicious that she is registered as a civilian citizen, but her abilities and powers are at least those of a Chunin. And last but not least: She was living in the Kazekage's apartment?! As far as I remember he never had any interest in having a romantic relationship. He didn't care about woman nor did he care about men, except for you and Kankuro, but you're siblings. Isn't it strange that he let her into his private place? And what about Dog and Lizard?", he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, about that... ", Dog wanted to start doing some explanation but was stopped by Baki.

"You two keep your mouth shut for now", he returned back to the blonde, "Why would he place Anbu here if she really were innocent? You can't deny that I have some pretty good points there. You know that I'd do almost anything to get him back. You know that he has my full respect for everything he has done. You know that... Are you still doubting me?"

Temari had calmed down and was now sighing in defeat. Baki sure was clever. Too bad that the lack of information had brought him to wrong conclusions. But even if he had been right, choking the girl was surely something he shouldn't have done and she would have to punish him for that one. On the other side... Maybe it didn't seem like it, but Baki was actually a real good guy, sometimes even a softy. He always tried to be fair and follow the path of justice. Telling him the truth about Bara might be just enough punishment for him. Well, of course she wouldn't reveal every detail. Especially not that she was somewhat special and stuff, Temari knew to be quiet about that topic. But she would prove her innocence! Baki's remorse would surely knock him down completely as soon as he would find out, she knew. He'd probably hit himself mentally until he would be able to get himself to ask the girl for forgiveness. As far as Temari knew, Bara would forgive him without further questions since she had such a big heart. And then there was Gaara...

As soon as he would find out he'd probably get angry at Baki. And he would find out, that was for sure. Bara would probably have to calm him in order to save Baki... DAMN! IF Gaara came back and IF Bara came back... At the moment it didn't look very promising, but just thinking about it wouldn't help her now... Temari decided to clear things up with Baki, but not then and there. Eyes and ears could be everywhere in the hospital and she knew that neither Gaara nor Bara would like the whole world to know about their private lives...

"Baki, we'll talk about that later... ", she turned to the Anbu, "You two!"

"Yes, ma-am?", both responded in unison.

"How the hell did she get out of here?! You were supposed to take care of her!", she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"We're not sure... Nobody entered or left her room except for us until Baki-san and you came. She must have escaped a while before that since Baki-san mentioned something about seeing her last night. She was never left alone except for the time she was in the bathroom. The reason for that is quite obvious... ", Lizard turned to Dog who just nodded.

Temari frowned: "She must have escaped from the bathroom somehow. Are there any possibilities to get out of there?"

"Only through the window, but I don't think that since this room is on the eighth floor and her leg was injured... ", Dog frowned under his mask.

"She had help", Baki interrupted, "A summoning creature was with her. Strangely enough one with a Konoha headband while she was wearing a Suna armlet."

Temari stared disbelievingly at him: "She had what?!"

"A Suna armlet, identifying her as a shinobi of the sand. I've searched through our data, but found nothing. That got me really suspicious", Baki closed his eyes, seemingly thinking of something.

The blonde growled while massaging the root of her nose. She took a deep breath to calm herself. That armlet would probably get her friend into trouble as soon as she came back, but at least that would make the search for her easier. Gaara would most probably forgive her anyway...

Suddenly she remembered what Kankuro had told her. Bara had trained self-defense under Chiyo's wing... Well, as far as Temari knew that old woman, she could tell that her lessons included the use of some advanced ninja techniques too. The blonde had already guessed that she had been the reason why Bara knew how to repair Gaara's seal. It would actually make sense if Chiyo had given Bara a Suna headband, or in that case armlet, just in case somebody thought she'd be a missing nin. Too bad, that it was already too late to ask that old trickster for details since she was gone with Naruto's team now. That old woman... DAMN! This was surely not the time to leave her head in the clouds. Was she spending so much time with Shikamaru that she actually started copying his habits? NONSENSE! Kankuro was waiting for her! It was time to tell Baki what he needed to know and leave.

"Temari-san?", Dog asked somewhat obedient, "Can we go now after her? Bring her back and such?"

'_He really deserves that dog mask... Just glad that Lizard is his teammate..._ ', Temari turned to the two Anbu, "Yes, you can leave. I have no more questions for you. Be quick and bring her back as soon as possible", both disappeared, "Baki - you and me - private room - four eyes - now! There are some things I need to explain to you... "

"As you wish", Baki was rather intrigued to know what his former student had to say since she wanted them to be alone. He knew that it was somehow connected to Bara. Apparently the blonde seemed to know more about the girl than him and he wanted to find out what that was.

Together they left the room, walking hastily to the next bug-proof room on that floor. Temari was really relieved to find that it was empty. Usually some doctors were in there, talking about things no one else was allowed to know. At least she wouldn't have to waste time searching for an empty room. Kankuro was not known for much patience.

After they had entered the room and the door had been locked, Baki raised his voice: "Now tell me... What's so important that you have to tell me in here?"

"It's about your SPY... ", just as he had thought, "Her name is Bara and I can assure you that she has nothing to do with Gaara's abduction... ", the blonde was hesitant with the information she was about to give away. Should she just tell him about Bara's feelings for her brother? And the thing with Chiyo and Gaara's seal? Her friend would probably not like it when she just gave away her secrets...

"Like I said, I've already read her file. I know her name, where she's from, everything that's written in there. You asked me what proof I have for her guilt. Now I think it's my turn to ask you what proof you have for her innocence... ", he sat down on one of the chairs in the room, next to a table.

"I know her long enough now to know how she is. We're actually friends and I trust her... I can give you my word on her innocence", she decided to go with rather unimportant information for now.

Unfortunately Baki wasn't satisfied with her answer: "Temari, I taught you to take good care for who you trust. Maybe she was deceiving you ever since you met her. How can you be sure that she really is or rather was your friend?"

The blonde sat down herself: "Bara is not just my friend. Do you believe that somebody is able to deceive Kankuro and Gaara too? Bara worked for Chiyo and that old woman trusted her as well. A woman with her experience is really, really difficult to deceive, don't you think?"

"Of course I believe that she is very skilled and so, but I also know that an opponent is never to be underestimated. Maybe she had a special ability that helped, you never know... ", he gave her an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry for you, but I still believe that she is somehow guilty... "

"She lost all of her family on the fire that occurred in Uwasa. She was devastated by the time she found out about it... She came here because I invited her to do so. She remained here because she had no other place to go... ", slowly she felt cornered. There was not much more left to say without spilling any private information or secrets.

"What if she made that fire and pulled a show just for you? How can you know that she didn't do that on purpose? What if she wanted you and your siblings to feel pity for her? How can you be sure that it wasn't her plan to make you take care of her? I actually wonder why she didn't stay in your apartment if you were friends. Why is it that she was living in the Kazekage's apartment? He is a male and she is a female. Only couples live together, don't they? To me it sounds like a plan to get near him, find his weakness and give information to her accomplice", his words were piercing through Temari's heart. She knew that he was wrong, she knew for sure! Baki narrowed his gaze: "Whatever she did, whatever she said... Temari, you must understand. It could have been all a lie to deceive you and everybody else in this village. We must find and interrogate her. It is necessary to find out her plans. We might find out why the Kazekage was abducted. I just hope he is still alive... Maybe it was her plan to kill hi-", Baki was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a fist making contact with the table. Temari had tried to stay calm, listen to what Baki had to say, understand what was going on in his mind, but not like this. Accusing her of something so terrible...

"Bara would NEVER EVER do something like that! She is a good-hearted, kind and caring person! Now if you ask me for proof of that, there is an unbeatable truth about her that I will tell you!", she was so irritated by his accusations that the words just came flying out of her mouth, "I believe that you remember quite well that Shukaku hasn't taken control of Gaara by the time he became unconscious from the Akatsuki attack. Everybody wondered why the demon didn't do it. Well, I know the answer to that and it's Bara! She repaired the seal that keeps the demon inside of him. I don't know how she found out about the fact that his seal was not done properly. Nobody knew that! Not even Gaara himself... He had found out just a few months ago. I myself, his own flesh and blood, found out when Kankuro told me... Gaara had cried his heart to him right after Bara was successfully brought to the hospital without dying on the way... I was so shocked by the time I found out that the seal was faulty. I always thought that the fact that the demon could take him over as soon as he slept was part of the seal and that was just the way it worked, but I was wrong. We were all wrong. The seal had been defect from the very beginning, crackling a bit more every day. Someday soon it would have broken and Gaara's body and mind would have belonged to the demon. I was so sad that Gaara wouldn't get a chance to live a happy life just because of that damn thing inside of him... I was also very concerned for the safety of the village because the demon would surely wreak havoc wherever it would go as soon as it would be in control of Gaara's body... ", she snorted sarcastically while ridding her eyes of some tears, "He gave orders to execute him as soon as that would happen... I was devastated by that information, but Kankuro just kept telling me what happened a few days before Gaara was kidnapped... He told me about Bara and what she had done... She repaired the seal and nearly died doing that... She was ready to give her life to save him and the village... She did that without any thought of selfishness... "

Baki just stared at his former student, eyes widened: "Why would she do that?", he couldn't imagine someone being so selfless for any reason.

"It's because she loves him... ", now he was shocked, "She truly loves him... A love pure and unconditional... She was ready to do anything possible to make him happy, even if he would never love her... She would have done everything to make sure he was okay, to help him, to save him... I can remember when I told her about his abduction... Immediately she left the hospital bed, determined to get him back... Her leg was injured and she was coughing up blood, but her mind was settled for nothing else but him. Even in that condition she never thought of herself... I made her promise that she wouldn't do something so stupid again, but I think I kind of knew that she was unstoppable when it came to my youngest brother... I took measures and gave orders that she wasn't allowed to leave neither the hospital nor the village. I added her name and picture to the lists that are all placed at the gates, you know what I mean... I guess she knew I'd do something like that and that's why she couldn't just walk out casually... As to why she was in his apartment and the reason why Anbu were guarding her... You see... Gaara likes her... I can't tell how much, but I know that she is precious to him. She always was, ever since the two met for the first time... The fire in Uwasa was made because of her... People are after her and she was quite lucky that she got away from them just in time. I promised to not tell anybody why she is wanted, but I can assure you that she has done nothing bad... Gaara knows why and he felt the need to protect her. She kind of ended up in his apartment so he could take better care of her safety... The Anbu were placed in the hospital for her own protection since somebody had tried to kidnap her when she was still unconscious. That was another reason why I didn't want her to leave Suna alone... ", she took a deep breath of air, "I just hope she is okay, wherever she might be now. The people who are after her can't be good if they murdered her family just to try and get her...But you know what?", she smiled, "I was really surprised when I heard that she escaped quite successfully... I guess she can take care of herself after all... ", Temari leaned back in her seat, smiling absentmindedly.

Baki took a while to digest all the information he had gotten before raising his voice again: "I'm sorry for what I have done... I'm sorry for what I have said... Everything I have said... I was so wrong... If only I had known... "

The blonde just shook her head: "Nobody except for Kankuro, Gaara and me knew. It was for her own safety that nobody else found out about her... I guess we weren't careful enough and that's why she was found... ", she eyed Baki. He looked remorseful and guilt stricken, just like she had predicted: "Just stay calm, Baki. Dog and Lizard are very competent shinobi, we both know that. They will take care that she comes back. I'm sure she hasn't gotten very far, but anything can happen and I'd really like to see her come back safe and sound... And to be honest, I'd love to see her as Gaara's girlfriend. I think they really match", she smirked.

Baki's lips curled up into a tiny smile. Her words had given him a bit comfort: "I'll keep this information to me. Nobody shall know of this... "

"Well, at least until both of them decide to make their relationship official or something. That's what I hope, but I'm glad to hear that you understand everything. Now, first things first. Kankuro is waiting for me. We organized a bunch of shinobi to go after Gaara and I want you to join us. I bet he'll be glad to see that his former sensei came for him too", she stood up, "Are you joining us?"

He nodded: "Yes."

"Great!", she smiled shortly before narrowing her gaze, "Before I forget it. I would recommend you to not blab about her escape and what you did with her clone. Gaara might get really angry. The last person who hurt her was Okku and I think you know how that ended since you helped me with his file... "

He swallowed: "That was because of her?", he didn't know that since the file just said that he had attacked a civilian. No name had been entered there since it hadn't been important.

Temari just nodded and smirked: "Let me take care of the talking and you should be fine, okay?", she was back to her usual self.

"Of course... ", he stood up and they left the room.

Temari sent Baki to the northern gate so he could join the others while she went to get Kankuro. Not far from the Kazekage building she found him and of course they couldn't leave without some brotherly and sisterly nagging. That was just their usual way to talk to each other ever since their family relationship had become better. Temari was just happy that she hadn't told him that she had actually wanted to take Bara with her for Gaara's retrieval. She knew that it wouldn't have been a problem for her to come since there were so many shinobi with them and there would have been always somebody there to take care of her. But maybe that wouldn't have been necessary since she was a great fighter according to Kankuro. The doctors had also said that her leg was healing very good so she should have been able to walk on her own. Well, it wasn't helping just thinking about things again. Like she had said to Baki, first things first. She'd take care that her brother would come back home and then she would take care of her friend...

"Let's go", as these words had been uttered they left for the northern gate, where the rest of the group joined them. Together they all left the village at the highest speed they could manage to keep up for a high distance. It would take them a few hours to reach the Konoha teams, but they knew where to find them...

Like predicted the group of shinobi had found the Konoha nins, Chiyo and Gaara after some hours. They were all happy to see that the Kazekage wasn't in enemy hands anymore. Panting for air they walked closer to the scene. The jaunty atmosphere changed to a gloomy one as they saw the motionless body of Gaara on the ground. Was he alright? Nobody could really tell. They just saw Chiyo performing some kind of jutsu with the help of Naruto. No one dared to talk. They just stood in a wide circle around their leader, unconsciously holding their breaths.

Temari was the first to break the circle by walking up to her brother, kneeling down next to Naruto: "Is he okay?", concernedly she looked at Chiyo.

The old woman nodded: "I'll be done soon... Don't worry about him... He should wake up any minute now... "

Kankuro took a few steps closer to the scene. He wanted to be close to his brother as soon as he would wake up. Other shinobi followed his action and the circle around Gaara became smaller. Everybody wanted to see and know that he was fine after all.

"Temari, you and Bara are friends, right?", the old woman shifted her gaze to the blonde.

"Yes. I guess she told you... ", she scanned the woman's face.

"Yes, she did... When you see her next time, please tell her something... ", Temari's eyes widened as she finally understood what the old woman was actually doing there, "Tell her that this is not an attempt to redeem my mistakes... Tell her that this is a gift... A gift for Sunagakure... A gift for Gaara himself... And also a gift for her... She'll understand... "

Temari wanted to protest: "But-"

"Don't say anything. Just promise me that you will tell her... ", Chiyo had interrupted her.

The blonde gave her a sad smile and nodded: "I promise... ", the old woman had already decided and she wouldn't be the one to stop her. Especially not when she would give her baby brother back to her.

Chiyo's breathing became heavier, but she smiled. She knew exactly what she was doing, it was simply the right thing to do. She had lived long enough. Enough mistakes had been made by her... It was time to make way for a different generation of shinobi. It was time that the world was shaped by new, better ideas... It was time for people like Sakura because she was so chivalrous. Naruto because he had the gift to become friends with anyone within seconds. Gaara because he had managed to become a great man even under such bad circumstances. And Bara because she was so selfless...

The future looked bright when she thought of them. Giving her life for Gaara was definitely a good decision. Especially when so much depended on him. He was the Kazekage and even if she never had wanted to admit it, he was a really good one. A good leader and a good person after all. Besides of that she knew that her little apprentice would be heartbroken if he wouldn't come back to her. Ah, yes... Chiyo knew about the incident that had occurred in the flower shop. She knew what Bara had done, but she also knew that the girl's feelings weren't one sided. A chuckle went through her mind as she recalled some memories. It had been evening in the hospital when she had found Gaara in front of Bara's room. That was before he had put Anbu there for her protection. His forehead was leaning against the door, his eyes were closed. Curiously she had watched him until he had entered. She had thought that it was better to come later, give him some private time with her. After all she had not missed the tear that had glued itself to his cheek. Nevertheless she couldn't help herself. She wanted to know what he would do in there. Somehow she had ended up eavesdropping on him, watching him caress her cheek and kiss her. He had also asked her to forgive him back then. She left after that. Yes, he cared about her a lot. She knew that ever since that evening...

The old woman's body fell backwards, Sakura catching her limp body: "Chiyo... ", she was done.

It took some minutes before Gaara opened his eyes. He seemed dizzy at first, his eyes not focusing. After a short while he recognized Naruto and then he saw all the people surrounding him. Temari knew that she had to tell him about Bara, but not now. She could clearly see that he was surprised and in his eyes she saw the happiness. She knew that this was something he had wished to happen for very long now... Finally he had become needed by so many people... They accepted and honored him as a human, not a monster. She couldn't hung her heart to ruin this moment for him... First she'd take care that he was alright and when they were back in the village she'd tell him. That was the plan. Probably the Anbu had brought her back until now anyway.

The blonde kunoichi was just about to help him as Gaara's fangirls came running and pushed Naruto away. '_Please not them!_', she grunted annoyed while keeping Sari and Matsuri away from her brother. She knew very well that he didn't like those two very much. It took her some effort and nerves to get them to leave him alone, but in the end they did.

Soon everybody had realized that Chiyo was dead. They understood what she had done and eventually even why. After saying a prayer for her they left for the village. Before anything else, a message was sent to Konoha and Chiyo was buried as they reached the village. It had been Ebizou's wish that she would receive a grave before anything else happened and Gaara was not the one to intervene since he owed her his life. It also gave Sakura and Naruto a chance to say good bye to her before they had to leave and in their opinion they had to leave too soon. But they couldn't stay either because Kakashi had to be brought back home. The silver haired Jonin had exhausted himself too much. A proper funeral for Chiyo would be held in a few days, giving the whole village the chance to say good bye.

The sand siblings bid their farewells before team Kakashi and team Gai left. Even Gaara, who had always despised physical contact with others, had shaken hands with Naruto. The two of them felt that their friendship had grown to a stronger bond. Yes. Few people were allowed to touch Gaara and Naruto was one of them. After the Konoha nins left the Kazekage's thoughts ran back to the person he thought of ever since he woke up...

He had wanted to see her, know if she had finally awakened from her coma, but he had been afraid of the answer to that. Besides of that he had wanted that Sunagakure's heroine was properly honored before he would return to his daily deeds. Thinking of it thoroughly, he didn't actually feel like doing papers. At least not that day...

Temari, Kankuro and Gaara walked through the gates as the youngest of them raised his voice: "Thank you two... "

"No need to thank us, you're our little brother after all", Kankuro grinned.

"It's natural that we care for you, but not only because we're siblings. We're friends too... ", Temari gave him a caring smile.

"Thank you anyway... ", he took a deep breath of air, "I feel exhausted... "

"Don't overdo it. You just woke up a few hours ago. Maybe you should try to sleep now that the demon is gone?", the blonde kunoichi was still a bit worried about him.

Sleep, hm... Something that actually intrigued him. He had always wanted to know how it felt. Why the people he watched sleeping had that solemn, peaceful looks on their faces. At least most of the time. Even after Bara had repaired his seal he hadn't slept one second. He had been just too worried about her to let his consciousness drift away and it wasn't any different now. He wanted to be sure that she was okay before he would really go to sleep: "There is something I want to do first... ", he was still somewhat afraid of the answer, but he just had to know, "Does anyone of you know how Bara is?"

Kankuro chuckled: "I think you'll be happy to hear that she woke up. She still has to heal some of her wounds, but she's more or less fine. She actually asked for you quite often", he smiled.

"She did?", Gaara's mood lightened up as his brother nodded, "Then I shall visit her... "

"You better do. She was all worried for you, right Temari?", the brunette turned to where his sister should have been but found nothing, "Temari?", quickly he looked around and found her a few steps behind them, "Something wrong, sis?"

Kankuro and Gaara walked up to their sister, worried if she was okay. She just bit her thumb while staring to the side. She had to tell them now, even if the information was unpleasant, even if she had tried to avoid it. On the other side she was still optimistic that the Anbu had retrieved the girl until now so maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all. Taking a deep breath she started explaining: "There is something I have to tell you... Something happened... "...

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**Oh dear, she's dropping the bomb. -.- That will hurt. OUCH.**

**I do hope you guys are okay if I don't write down word by word what's happening in the actual manga. I think that would be rather strange, because you can go and read it there. Besides of that I believe that more than enough fanfictions do that already, so I'm not going to push the same information all over you again and again. Kay? Good.

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**Sneak Preview:**

**Kabuto: Hello there.**

**Bara: Hmhmph!! _confused and afraid_**

**Kabuto: I guess you would like to know what's going on here, right?

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**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers =D**


	25. Awakening

White Rose

**Sorry, sorry and sorry. Another week of delay. I've been having an art block ever since I finished the last chapter and it was really awful! I couldn't write, I couldn't draw, I couldn't work, HELL I couldn't even sleep properly. Whatever I started or did it was horrible and I didn't want you guys to put up with bad quality. I gave my very best to overcome that annoying block and this is kinda more or less the result. I do hope you enjoy it.**

**Thank you goes to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, enapets21, aquamarine-acaia and Sandra1920499**

**Another thanks goes to WingedIsis16 and Myabita22 for the alert **

**My last thank you goes to thunderoc and Uchiha-Chan for the fave**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you! ^^°**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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Awakening

Was the world spinning? It was hard to tell since everything was so dark. Consciousness... Consciousness... Was it present? Even harder to tell... Darkness... Maybe closed eyelids? Awake or sleeping? Hm... None of those... A very unpleasant feeling, just like the world was spinning... But it was just a feeling pestering the body since the eyes weren't able to see anything else but black... Hm... Being able to feel a body... Maybe that wasn't such a bad start... Toes, legs, arms, fingers... Nothing missing... Ah, yes... Closed eyelids, definitely closed. At least that was cleared now... What now? Hm... The need to remember... Yes, the need to remember the last thing that happened... Good question. What exactly happened? What was the very last memory? Hm... Something was blocking the way, the memory locked...

"Wha... thi... she?... ", syllables echoing in the ear.

Was there someone? Ah, something was happening... No... The world was finally getting slower...

"... now?", more syllables. This time more understandable.

The eyelids' heaviness slowly disappeared... Eyes started sending blurry pictures to the brain...

"Obvi... just... let... this... ", different voices, maybe two persons?

The world finally stopped spinning, eyesight and hearing slowly kicking in. Unfortunately the body was still weak, not obeying...

"I guess this is who he was talking about... ", a male had spoken.

"Can we trust... erm... this being?", there was the second male. His voice seemed kind of familiar.

"Well, there was a tranquilizer dart in his hand and he is knocked out. I doubt he did that himself. There is way too much evidence for a fight here, but I wonder... ", the man wore the mask of a lizard.

"You wonder what? Didn't you just say we can trust... erm... Are you sure it's male?", the man with the dog mask sounded rather obedient.

Displeased grunting left said being's lips: "I AM male... ", it was hard for him to talk or move, but he was finally fully conscious again, "What do you... want?"

"You seem to be dealing with some adverse effects from the sedative... ", Lizard bent forward, getting closer to him, "Tell me... What happened here, monkey?"

Enma scoffed: "For you it's your majesty... ", he didn't like being treated without respect.

"I didn't mean to offend your highness. We were unaware of the fact that a king was in front of us. Furthermore we are looking for someone we need to find as quick as possible. This place is where we lost the tracks so we require your help... ", Lizard reached out his hand to help the creature in front of him.

Enma had to admit that this was much more to his liking, but he was still cautious of trusting these two he recognized as Anbu. They hadn't killed him until now and he wasn't sure if that was going to stay like that: "Who exactly are you looking for and why?", cautiously he took his hand. The old monkey accepted Lizard's help because he was still a bit dizzy.

"We mean no harm to the girl we are looking for. She is fifteen years old, white hair, tanned skin... Uhm... ", Dog tilted his head, seemingly thinking about something.

"What my friend is trying to say is, that we are looking for your companion, Bara", Enma stared at both of them, "You have been seen together with her... "

"So then you must be from Sunagakure?", the monkey pointed at Dog, "I should have known after recognizing his voice... "

"My voice?", Dog pointed a finger at himself and Enma nodded, "How can you know my voice? I've never seen you before... ", he was a bit confused.

"From the hospital, I'd say", Lizard had analyzed the information faster than his companion.

"Looks like you are the smarter part of the team", Enma smirked.

"You could say it's my special ability, but back to the original topic. We have to bring the girl back home. Where is she?", Lizard stood up, looking around.

Good question. Where was she actually? And why had Enma been unconscious? He couldn't clearly remember. Had something happened to them? The two Anbu had mentioned something like a fight and a tranquilizer dart... The old monkey stared at the branch in front of him. There he saw something awfully familiar, a Suna armlet. Immediately he picked it up. This was Bara's! Damn! He remembered again. That gray haired boy had tossed it to him...

"Shit!", Enma jumped up, his eyes roaming around the scene. Nobody was there except for him and the Anbu. The three young shinobi and the guy Bara had called Toya were no where to be seen. They were gone! How long had he been out?!

"Something wrong?"

"When did you find me?"

"About half an hour ago. We've scanned the area before you woke up. I think you've been unconscious for a while now. Tranquilizer usually knock you out for at least two hours."

"Was anybody here when you arrived?"

"No. Just you and some left weapons. Blood, broken tree branches... The more or less usual signs for a battle. What happened?"

"We've been attacked by a team of shinobi and Bara was kidnapped. I don't know where they went, but I know who sent them... ", Enma gritted his teeth. He knew that it was most probably too late to run after her kidnappers. Who knew where they had run to and how far they had come? He had lost another companion to Orochimaru and that just within one single day! Not even 24 hours! Damn him!!!

"We need every information you can give us to get her back. People have already been worrying for her before this happened... Maybe we should head back, get some reinforcements, inform people... Possibly clear things up with Baki... ", Lizard seemed to be contemplating.

"I think -you know who- already did that... ", Dog sat down, "And to be honest I wouldn't want to be in his place... "

Enma eyed Bara's armlet. She was a slender girl. Her upper arm wasn't even as wide as his wrist, but there was enough fabric to tie the item around it. He would take care of it until he would find her...

Lizard turned to the monkey: "Who is responsible for her abduction? We might have information on that person and we could continue the search now."

Enma shook his head: "I hardly believe that anybody knows were he is now. Many people are searching for him due to the crimes he has committed in his life... "

Dog felt intrigued: "Who are you talking about?"

"Orochimaru... ", Enma clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

It felt like anything had gone silent at the mentioning of this name, not even the birds were chirping. At least that was how it felt for the three men that had gathered. Lizard was the first to break the silence after a while: "This is grave... This surely requires more than just Dog and me... "

"Since Bara has signed my contract and she is a citizen of Suna you can count me as your ally.. ", he raised his fist to show them the sign of the hidden sand, "We need to free her from that monster... "

"I didn't expect anything else from you, but it's still not enough. We have to return to the village. The Kazekage will know what to do... ", Lizard was thinking about the next steps.

"He's dead... ", Enma wasn't sure that they would believe him, but it was better to tell them now.

"Dead?!", Dog jumped up, "Are you serious?!"

"How do you know that?", Lizard seemed surprised himself.

"It's hard to explain... Bara had this item she was constantly using to track him. I've never seen anything like it, but I guess it was the reason why she left the village and the hospital. She knew where he was and that made her determined to find and help him. It seems that it was somehow connected to him. Anyway... As the item broke, she told me that he had died... I actually believe what she said back then... ", he tried not recalling that moment. Her face, her words, simply everything of her... Seeing and hearing her in that state, he couldn't help but feel affected.

"Things seem to get worse by the second... ", Dog took a deep breath of air.

"Either way we have to go back to the village. Even though I don't want to go to the council with this matter, I'm afraid that we have to... Bara's protection was the Kazekage's private wish. He told us that he didn't want the council to know. I think that's why he never told us why somebody had tried to abduct her from the hospital... ", Lizard sighed.

"That means that Orochimaru was after her for a while now... ", Enma clenched his fists again, "If I had known, I wouldn't have let her out of the village. Orochimaru is no man, he is a monster. And I for instance don't want to see anybody in his hands, under any circumstances.. He has no mercy... "

"I think we all can agree on that. However, we need to return to the village. I need you to explain the exact events to us while we're on the way. Every detail matters. We shall see what we will do next as soon as we reached the village... ", Lizard gestured towards south.

"Then let's head out... ", Enma leaped from one tree to the next, the Anbu following closely.

None of them knew that Gaara had been found and revived not too long before Enma had awakened...

* * *

"Something happened... ", Temari looked at her brothers and she had to admit that the look on their faces were making it really hard to talk.

"What happened?", Kankuro lay a hand on her shoulder, "You know that you can tell us everything."

She shifted her eyes, now staring at her youngest brother. His expression was unreadable, but that was just his usual self. She knew that would change as soon as she would spill the beans. And she HAD to tell him... Suddenly the place seemed so crowded. No wonder, considering that they were in the middle of the village, on some random street. Many people were passing them by: "Can we go somewhere private? I don't think that everybody needs to listen to what I'm about to say... "

Gaara's eyes shifted to the side, staring into nowhere: "Can this wait until after we've visited Bara?"

"**NO!**", she clasped a hand against her mouth, she hadn't wanted to shout.

People were looking at them, seemingly interested in what was happening. Kankuro noticed that: "Let's get somewhere private. I don't like the crowd that's building. Besides of that I'm sure that Bara won't run away if we don't visit her right now", he gave his brother a grin.

Temari unconsciously gritted her teeth, '_If only he knew... _'

"I guess we could go to one of our apartments. We surely won't be bothered there. Who's apartment is next to this place?", Kankuro looked around, orienting himself.

"That should be mine", Gaara motioned into the direction of his place.

"Then let's hurry. I have a feeling that our big sis has a real big itch on her tongue", Kankuro grinned, teasing said woman.

Temari gave him a real nasty glare, making him flinch. This was not the time for something like that: "Yes, hurry... ", her voice was cold.

The three of them hurried to the Kazekage's apartment. After they had entered and the door had been closed Temari wasn't able to hold it anymore: "She's gone!", the words just blurted out of her mouth.

"Who?", Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

"Bara... She's not here... ", she took a deep breath of air while her brothers stared wide eyed at her. Now she had to continue to the harder part: "She's not in the hospital and she's not in Sunagakure... She's gone... "

"Y-You're kidding, right?", Kankuro didn't look very amused.

Temari shook her head: "I'm sorry but it's true... Dog and Lizard went to retrieve her, but they haven't returned yet... "

"How can that be possible?! What happened?!", Kankuro eyed his brother.

Gaara had frozen in place, thoughts running through his mind. Unconsciously clenching his fists he turned away from his siblings. How could she not be where he had left her? He had taken her that she would be fine, hadn't he? Temari and Kankuro tried to get his attention, but they had become nonexistent. Somehow he couldn't help himself. He didn't believe his sister's words. He had to go and see for himself. He had to convince himself that she was lying! He would go and visit Bara, hug her, caress and kiss her. That was what he wanted and that was what he would do...

"Gaara, are you listening to what I say?" Temari was just about to grab his shoulder as sand whirled around his being. The very next second he was gone: "Damn, he used Shunshin to get away... He wasn't listening to a thing that I said, was he?"

"Nope. And I can imagine why... I think I know where he went to", Kankuro turned to leave the apartment again.

"What are you thinking?", Temari followed closely. She wondered why he would know what Gaara was thinking in a situation like this. Her youngest sibling was hardly ever understandable.

"I think he is on his way to the hospital. He wants to see for himself if she is gone or not... ", he stopped his tracks for a moment, "I just hope he'll stay calm. It won't help anybody if he looses his temper now... Especially after everything that happened... "

"I still have to explain everything to him. Hopefully Dog and Lizard will return together with Bara soon... ", she sighed, "He really likes her, right?"

Kankuro took a deep breath of air: "I have a feeling that he likes her more than we can imagine... But who can blame him?... ", he turned and continued walking while mumbling to himself, "I just hope he'll treat her the way she deserves it as soon as she's back... "

Even though his words had been hardly audible she had noticed them. Nevertheless she doubted what her ears had perceived. Had he really said that just a moment ago? It almost sounded like he was... Her eyes widened. So that's how it was. She never knew that Kankuro liked Bara too... Was that the reason why he knew what Gaara could be thinking? Was he thinking the same way as his brother? Was there a chance that they felt the same way right now?!... This could possibly end in a big mess, but that was negligible now. Priority lay on Bara's return. Everything else would be handled after that.

"Don't just stand and stare! We need to get to the hospital!", Kankuro looked impatient.

Temari walked up to her brother before both of them headed to the hospital at a fast pace.

Meanwhile Gaara had reached the room where Bara had been stationed. He was standing in front of her door, trying to calm himself. He couldn't deny that he was agitated. The Anbu he had left for her protection were nowhere to be seen. If he hadn't been so exhausted he might have used his senses to try and locate their chakra, but that might have confirmed the fact that his sister was right... No. He had to open the door, enter that room and look for himself.

'_Just open the door and enter, boy. Don't be a coward. If you keep standing there you'll never know!_', he scoffed. Shukaku would have probably said something like that. Somehow it was strange. Just standing in front of that door he had expected a sarcastic comment or something. For as long as he could remember he had never been alone in his mind. Shukaku had always been somewhere, his presence lingering in his mind. The demon's voice had not always been there, but that didn't mean it couldn't affect Gaara. Now it was gone, leaving great emptiness. Not that he missed it. NO. Quite the contrary. Just being himself was a pleasant feeling, one that he decided to enjoy. Especially when he was with the person he cared the most.

Finally he would be alone with Bara. Just the two of them. He wanted to tell her how much he cared. He adored the flustered look on her face after kissing her. Thinking of it almost made his lips curl up. He had to admit that she made him happy. He chuckled. He remembered the first promise she had given him. She had promised to make him smile one day. It looked like that day had arrived and he wanted to show Bara. Her and nobody else. His smile was something only she would be allowed to see. A rather hard task when he thought about it. Just thinking about her was tempting his lips. And it was definitely harder not to think of her. She had become irresistible to him. The way she smiled and laughed. That cute blush and the flustered look she would give him after kissing. Her slender body under his fingertips. Her soft skin...

Gaara shook his head as he realized what he was actually thinking of. This was not the time for daydreaming. It was time to act! Slowly he opened the door and entered the room...

_"Gaara!", a melodious voice reached his ear, "You finally came to visit me!", the girl smiled happily while said boy walked up to her. "Are you okay? I was so worried and I'm sorry for causing you such trouble. I just wanted to help... ", she blushed, "But I'm fine now!", she stood up from the bed to prove her statement, "See?" Without a second thought he grabbed her hand, pulling her into a tight embrace. Bara squealed in surprise: "Erm... I-is everything o-okay?"_

_"Yes. Now it is... ", he pressed her tighter to himself, "Now that I have you back everything is fine... "..._

Even if he had hoped for such a scene, nothing of that had happened. In reality he was standing in the doorway, staring at an empty bed. She was gone, just like Temari had said. The emptiness left by the demon was nothing compared to the emptiness that was currently spreading through the boy. Where was she? Was she okay? Had she fled or had she been kidnapped? Why would she want to flee? And how did she get away? Was it his fault? Had he done something wrong?!

Helplessly he stumbled through the room towards the next best sitting opportunity. Exhausted he sat down. Why now? Hadn't his death been enough? Back then he had already thought that he would never see her again. Now this. Returning to life had obviously given him false hope. The hope of being together with her for the rest of his new life...

Again Gaara felt cursed. Would his life be damned forever? Hadn't he earned forgiveness already? He had tried and given his best. He had fought for being Kazekage. He had fought to protect the village. He had fought for being accepted... He had fought for... her... Reviewing the last few months Bara had been the only reason for his selfishness. He wanted to be the one she cared the most. She was nothing he wanted to share. When it came to her, he wanted to be selfish. And now was the time for that, even if it was just a little...

"Gaara?", Temari stood in front of him, "Are you okay?"

"Where's Kankuro?", the Kazekage didn't care to look at his sister.

"I'm not sure. A Jonin found us, asking for one of us to help with something. He stayed behind, sending me to you... ", she hunkered down.

"How did he know I would be here?", his voice was dry.

She just shook her head: "Not important. Listen Gaara-", she was interrupted by a strange sound.

"Gaara, Temari!", Kankuro stood in the doorway, panting heavily.

"Kankuro? What's wrong?", Temari raised an eyebrow.

"It's... Dog... Lizard... ", he took a deep breath, "Dog and Lizard have returned... "...

* * *

A spinning world, darkness, exhaustion. Bara was about to gain consciousness and that to her own misfortune. Soon she realized that she had been tied up, blindfolded and gagged, wishing herself back to unconsciousness. She was confused and afraid. She had gotten herself into a real big mess with no clue how to get out again. But why should she actually care? It was not like she had a place to go. Sure, she could have gone back to Suna, but the memories of Gaara would just keep haunting her forever. Staying there would be pure torture at some point. Konoha might have been an option since Asuma lived there, but she was somewhat sure that he wouldn't be able to care for her. She knew of his lover and disturbing his love life was nothing she wanted to do. Besides of that she would only be reminded of her lost love again. Living alone somewhere didn't look like a too good option. She would most probably neglect things that were actually important and that would end rather unpleasant.

Now, if she had to spend her time somewhere, then why not here? It was not like she had a choice at the moment. If she would be a prisoner she might have some time to mourn. More than anything else she wanted time to grieve for her dead beloved. But somehow she had a feeling that it wouldn't come to that.

"Hello there", she turned her head to the voice, "So you finally woke up?", the voice was friendly.

Bara recognized the voice but didn't care to answer. He wasn't the person she used to know.

He undid the ties around her ankles and pulled her to her feet: "Walk", he grabbed the nape of her neck, pushing her forward.

"Hmhmph!", his grip on her was inflicting pain an she couldn't help but make it audible.

He reacted by loosening his hand a bit: "Just follow my orders Aimi and I won't have to hurt you, understand? And don't try to flee. I've shackled you with chakra cuffs."

Bara's heart skipped a beat: "Hm?!", but she kept walking, following his order. What had he called her just now?

"I see you understand and I think you wonder about how I called you. I guess you would like to know what's going on here, right?"

Her head might have been filled with sorrow and the thoughts of Gaara might have occupied a great amount of her mind, but she still got rather curious. Maybe it would distract her a bit, ease her pain... Slowly she nodded.

"Maybe we should start by introducing properly. I am Kabuto Yakushi and I will be responsible for you from now on. You, my dear, are a very rare specimen I will be allowed to research."

Specimen?! So he knew about her secret? And what was that about research? Bara's heart took up the pace. This felt somewhat familiar. She was afraid of what he would do to her.

"I look forward to working with you and I am sure that my results will please master Orochimaru."

NO! Not again that name! Defiantly she pushed her weight against Kabuto, making both of them stop. That name alone gave her the creeps. She didn't want to go to where that man was. NO!

The gray haired boy just started inflicting some pain on her: "I see you seem to remember him. Stop struggling Aimi. It's no use after all. You may have fled the first time you were his experimental subject, but we caught you in the end. I can promise you that it won't be any different in the future. Wherever you will go, we will find you. The only permanent escape you have is death and I will take care that won't happen", he pushed her forward.

Obediently she walked to wherever he wanted her to go. His words had etched themselves into her mind, giving her a headache. So he knew something about her past and it didn't sound pleasant at all. She had been an experiment. A prisoner of what she was. She had escaped... But she couldn't remember. At least not yet. Judging by her growing headache it wouldn't stay like that. She always got a headache when she started remembering things from her past that were locked. It was like her life's energy was sucked out of her body, starting with the head. The more memories, the more pain.

"Now, where was I? Of course, you. You've been born in Kumogakure as member of the Shirobara clan. Your mother was Reika Shirobara and your father an unknown man. We've tried finding data about him, but there was none. Not long after your birth, your mother fled from Kumo together with you. The reason for that is unknown, but why should we care? You won't be going anywhere but your cell for now. If you're a good girl, meaning you'll be cooperative, I might tell you more. I'm pretty sure you would like to know-Huh?", he scanned the girl.

Bara was sweating bullets and shaking. Her knees buckled and she landed on grassy ground. Pain was shooting through her entire being while memories of her childhood unlocked themselves. She was shouting in agony. There were too much memories, too much pain, too much of everything!

Kabuto bent over and analyzed her. He could tell that she was feeling great pain, but he couldn't tell why. Something strange was happening. It was like her life was being pulled out of her. Quickly he grabbed her, trying to bring her to the secret hideout as fast as possible. If she was going to die on him, he'd be in serious trouble.

About twenty minutes had passed before her pain went away. Bara was extremely exhausted. She had been sleeping not too long ago due to the sedative, but now she didn't want to do anything else. Yes, sleep. She wanted to rest and her body would be grateful if she did. Currently she was on an examination table somewhere, nowhere. Too much... It had been too much to remember... Her head was still throbbing, but she remembered. She could finally remember her childhood again. And she hated it... She hated almost every second of it... Sleep... She needed some sleep...

Her mind drifted into delirium after Kabuto had injected her some painkiller. Unfortunately her sleep was plagued by nightmares. Nightmares of her past...

* * *

**Wow. Quite much happened in short time, didn't it? Poor Bara or better Aimi... Twenty minutes of pain! I feel really sorry for her since it must have been hell. She finally remembers, but what happened in her past? And do we want to know that? Poor girl. Doesn't even know that the one she loves isn't dead...

* * *

**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Aimi: Mom?**

**Reika: Honey?! Why are you here? I've told you to not leave that place.**

**Aimi: It's okay mom... I know what happened...

* * *

**

**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


	26. Forgotten Memories Part 1

White Rose

**Okay, since I've started studying I have much more to do than in summer, so I really don't have the time for a weekly update. I will update this story now every two weeks and not later. When I should get really productive I might update earlier, just so you know. I'm really sorry, but I can't keep up with writing this AND my work. I hope you'll be fine with that.**

**My first thank you goes to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, IXLoveXMyXFishy, darkheart1992, enapets21, aquamarine-acaia and Sandra1920499**

**Another thank you goes to kitsune light for faving this.**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Forgotten Memories Part 1

A dimly lit room. Judging by the medical tools and items there it was a room nobody would like being inside. This room could give anybody the creeps just by thinking about it. Not that it was dirty or the smell unbearable, quite the contrary. Everything in the room was stainless clean, no sign of the things that were usually done inside. That fact made the room just scarier for everyone who knew of that room and the things that usually happened in there. Every single drop of blood that was shed in there disappeared into nowhere. There was no doubt that blood was being shed in there. Occasionally there would be agonizing screams coming out of it and if there were survivors they looked horrible after leaving that room, or rather being brought elsewhere...

If somebody would wonder about that room the answer would always be the same: "Stay away from that room unless you are told otherwise. That's Kabuto's experimental lab. He doesn't like people in there and you better believe me when I say that you absolutely don't want to go in there... "

Talking about the devil. The gray haired boy was currently with his master, explaining the situation about his newest experiment... The girl he had caught... She was inside of that room. Her body lay on a cold, metal plate Kabuto called his examination table. The whole room had a rather low temperature. Most of the time it was easier to work like that. She was tied to that plate and the chakra blocking material made it impossible to escape. If it wasn't for the blanket that lay on her she would have frozen, but Kabuto was sure to take good care of her. After all he couldn't let her die. At least not now, not as long as she might be useful...

"Aimi... ", a pale faced man pronounced that name playfully, testing the sound of it, "So we finally have her back?"

"Yes. And I do believe that little time out of her's made her more precious for your purpose, Orochimaru-sama. She has gained knowledge and power. I also believe that the emotions she has gone through will make it easy for us to deal with her", Kabuto handed a stack of papers to his master.

"Where is she now?", Orochimaru skipped through the notes.

"In my lab, sleeping. She was exhausted. Physically AND mentally."

"Be so kind and let me know when she wakes up. I would really like to welcome her back", he chuckled, "I haven't seen Aimi-chan for a while now... "

"Of course... ", Kabuto left the room, heading for his lab.

Once arrived he turned the lights on and sat on a chair next to the examination table. Grabbing a syringe he turned to his victim. Carefully he exposed one of her arms and sanitized it. His eyes shifted to her face. She looked like she was having a nightmare. Her face was grimacing in fear. He had to be careful while taking her blood since she was squirming from time to time. Silently he wondered if he had told her too much some time earlier. He hadn't expected her to break down after the few words he had uttered, but maybe he had approached the situation from the wrong side. After all she was a being with abilities yet unknown to him. Taking a last glance at her he started some research. The question of what she was currently seeing in her dreams was something that didn't invade his mind at all. Why should he? If he couldn't get any advantage of something it was simply useless...

* * *

A nightmare? NO. This was worse than a nightmare. This was hell! Why did she have to remember? Why did she have to live through her memories over and over again?! She had left that behind. She had started a new life. A better one! Why was she in this prison, forced to see all those things?! She had never really wanted to remember her past. She had been just fine with her present, but now? Damn that Toya or Kabuto or whatever - WHOEVER he was!!! If he hadn't reminded her... If he hadn't uttered those words... Damn him! And damn Orochimaru for everything he had done to her. That snake bastard... She feared and hated him. That was why she had fled a few years ago. Anywhere was better than this place! She wanted to run, get away from this monster, but she was trapped. Trapped in this hell of a nightmare, forced to relive her past...

One of the oldest memory she had, was one concerning her mother. Little Aimi had been three years old, living with her mother on a farm with a tavern somewhere in nowhere. About three days away was a small village where some of the things were bought that couldn't be produced by the owners of the farm themselves. Reika, her mother, worked as a waitress, enabling them to live in that house. If there weren't much customers she would also go out to harvest on the fields or something like that. Aimi didn't know exactly since she hardly ever left her room. People didn't have the time to take care of her and Reika didn't want her to be seen by others too much anyway. About this was the time when her nightmare started. This was the place her mind had landed after falling asleep...

-_Dream/Memory_-

Aimi was in her and her mother's room, staring out of the window. Her eyes were glued to the small playground right next to the house. It didn't have much to offer, but it was okay. There was a sandbox, a slide and two swings. She had always liked playing there. The swing was her favorite. She loved it when she was high up in the air. Aimi always tried getting as high as possible and then jumped, flying through the air until her mother's arms would catch her. That had always been the most fun to her... Had been... It wasn't like she had lost the joy of playing there, but nowadays she knew that something was missing. Every time she played there she would be alone or with her mother and somehow it felt strange. It felt... lonely...

The owner of the farm would sometimes tell her how his children used to play together when they were still young. They would play hide and seek and chase after one another. That had been the time where a deep friendship had been molded between the siblings. Aimi never really understood what the old man was talking about, but she knew that she craved for something like that. A friend... Someone her age maybe... A bit younger or older would be fine too. Unfortunately she was the only child around. Everybody else was at least twenty or something, the small girl couldn't really tell. She could only tell if people were older than her or much older than her.

It was late afternoon and the wind was playing with the swings. The sun would set soon and Reika would come to tutor her daughter. After learning they would go out and play... Maybe... Aimi couldn't stop thinking of something else. She wondered how other children would look like if she ever saw one. What would they say? How would they be like? Would they be nice and play with her? Bully her? Okay, that was hard to imagine since Aimi had never been bullied nor has seen somebody bullying somebody else. People just kept telling her, that it was something bad. Something she wasn't allowed to do. The girl was rather confused. What was good? What was bad? She was clueless, probably too young to understand anyway. She guessed that she wouldn't mind at all when another child would bully her. She'd probably be rather happy to know that she wasn't alone in this world.

A sad smile left her lips. Time... Too much time passed without anything happening. Too much time to think about god and the world. So much questions she asked herself, contemplating... Even though she was so young she had come to understand a lot in her small world. She knew that she would grow up some day, just like her mother. Maybe she would have children of her own. Just like the cows and horses and chickens and all the other animals on the farm did. Thinking about that reminded her that she wasn't allowed to go to the barn and play with the animals. Sometimes her mother would take her horseback riding, but that had also lost it's magic. Aimi tried not attaching herself to those animals because they would end up as her food and clothes one day. Yes, she knew about that. Those animals were bred to be sold and made other use of. That was a major part of this farms and taverns income. Silently she sighed again. Poor animals, but that didn't stop her from eating them. It was a part of nature's way and it gave meaning to their lives... At least they led a happy life in this place. The farmers here were very nice to their animals. They got plenty of food, water, grazing land and they were free to choose who they wanted to mate with. Not that they had a lot of choices. Most of the animals were females since the males would be the first to be sold. She understood that new life could only be created by a male and a female animal and humans worked most probably the same. No birds and bees and no stork bringing the babies, she didn't believe in those stories. But it wasn't like she was watching the animals do whatever they did to have babies. Actually she had no idea, but she couldn't help but eavesdrop on some of the conversations that went through the house. That's how she found out...

Whenever she had time, whenever she wouldn't be sleeping and whenever she would be alone she would try sneaking out of her room. She was always curious of what the people had to talk about. Since she was just learning how to read she could only listen to the great stories of the people who passed this place and they were very exciting. She heard of many things during her secret adventures. Stories of great villages, great warriors, villains, heroes, conflicts, hate... friendship and... love... Of course there were other topics too, but those were the most interesting ones. Especially the friendship and love thing. They intrigued her very much since she couldn't comprehend that information very good. She wanted to understand how those things worked. She wanted to know how it feels since everything sounded so great...

That's why she had begged her mother to teach her how to read. The old man who owned the farm had a giant bookshelf with all kind of stories. At least in her eyes it was giant. She wanted to read those books even if the stories weren't true. She believed that her loneliness would be easier to bear if she was able to read. Maybe those book could be her friends in some way. After all she had heard that friends would tell each other everything, share their secrets and such. If she would be able to read those books they would surely reveal all their secrets to her, Aimi knew it. Unfortunately her progress wasn't as good as she wished. Reading was something hard to learn...

Thinking about it she slowly realized that her mother was late. Curiously she shifted her gaze, looking at the room's door. Nothing happened. Carefully she got down from the stool she was standing on. She was too small to look out of the window without some kind of help. The little girl walked to the door only to bump into it.

"Ouch... ", Aimi rubbed her nose and forehead. The door had opened on it's own, crashing into the girl's face.

"Aimi?!", a woman walked into the room, "I'm sorry. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... I'm okay", she stopped rubbing her nose. It wasn't something too bad, she had had definitely worse. Aimi was rather clumsy. Tripping, bumping into things and hitting herself in any kind of way was nothing new to her.

"I'm late, I know. There were still some things I had to do", the woman smiled and hugged the girl.

"Teach me how to read, mom!", Aimi hugged her mother.

Reika lifted up her daughter and placed her on a chair next to a table: "As you wish honey", she smiled and turned to a closet.

Aimi took a peek at what her mother was doing. The closet was stuffed with all kind of things since they didn't have much room for themselves. Book, clothes, different boxes and documents could be seen inside. Reika cautiously pulled out a book from that more or less chaos and closed the closet again. Then she took another chair and sat next to her daughter, placing the book on the table: "Let's get started, shall we?", the little girl smiles brightly and the lecture starts.

About two hours with little progress had passed as the lecture ended. Aimi was discontent due to that, but she couldn't change it. After all she was just three. Understanding something didn't mean that it was that easy to execute. Sighing in defeat she laid her forehead onto the table. She wanted to grow up faster. Everyone she asked had told her that a lot of things were easier when she was a grown-up and reading was surely one of those things. If she were already grown up she wouldn't be the only one her age anymore. People wouldn't have to take care of her and maybe she could be helpful to her mother. She might find friends. Experience love?...

Again she sighed, turning her head to the side. Reika had fallen asleep with her head on the table. That was the actual reason why the lesson ended. Lately that would happen more often. She was always so tired from who knew what. Aimi couldn't tell what reason there was, but she could tell that her mother's position was rather uncomfortable for sleeping. Unfortunately she was too small to put her mother to bed all alone. Another reason why she wanted to grow up, but for now she would need some help.

Silently she got off the chair and left the room. Out on the corridor she headed for the stairs down to the ground floor. Once arrived she couldn't help but look at all the people who had gathered in the tavern. There was no place left to sit anywhere. The tables were all full. Luckily enough most of the people were just talking, hardly an order was placed. Good. She wanted to head into the kitchen, but her curiosity just got the best of her. Secretly she listened to some of the people talk. After hearing some of the stories she was disappointed. They were just gossiping. No one was really talking about her favorite topics. Oh well... Carefully she sneaked herself into the kitchen.

"Uncle? Uncle, can you help me?", her high voice chanted through the kitchen.

"Aimi?", an elderly man appeared from behind some pots filled with steaming food, "What's the matter? Why have you left your room?"

The girl was looking at the owner of this whole place. She could never remember his name and that's why she just called him uncle: "It's mum... She fell asleep again... Can you help me put her into bed?"

The man looked at her a bit concerned: "Again?... ", he grunted displeased, "I'm a bit busy here at the moment... "

"Is it that bad?", she made a sad face.

The old man couldn't resist: "Okay, I'll help. But we'll have to be quick", he pushed some buttons and turned switches. Then he lifted up the girl and together they walked up to her mother. Even though the owner of this place was already so old he was still in top shape. Carrying heavy things, cooking and taking care of the place were no issues to him.

As soon as they arrived in the respective room Aimi prepared the bed and the old man carefully placed Reika on it. The girl pulled a blanket over her mother's shape while he left. It took only a few seconds before she went after him: "Uncle?"

"Yes?", he turned to face her.

"Could mom get a day off or something next week?", Aimi was fidgeting with her clothing.

"I'm not sure... Why do you ask?", he looked puzzled.

"Ah... It's my birthday... ", the man fell silent, "I would just like to have her fully wake and not exhausted on that day... "

He smiled: "I think that should be arrangeable. Now go back to your room. Shoo!", playfully he motioned her to leave.

The girl's lips curled up to a soft smile and she went back. Well... There she was again, inside of her room. She was all alone again since sleeping mom didn't really count. Alone... Something she was too often for her taste. Silently she watched Reika sleeping. In Aimi's eyes her mother was a beautiful woman. She had dark, flawless skin and blazing, white hair. If she wasn't asleep like now people would look into eyes the color of green. Ever since Aimi had seen a picture of a forest she had called her mother's eyes forest green. She really liked that color.

The little girl sighed again, walking to the big mirror in the room. Looking at her reflection she wondered why she didn't look just like her mother. The skin wasn't dark, but rather tanned. The hair was white, but had a strange, red streak. Her eyes were crimson red... Why was she different? Recently she had wondered about things like that. She had also wondered why her mother looked so different to the other people around this place. Where was her father and who? Did she have one? Probably yes, but she couldn't bring up the courage to ask her mother since she always looked so sad when the word family was uttered. Aimi guessed that it was okay like this. She had a feeling that someday she'd find out.

She turned back to face her mother and noticed that the exercising book for reading was still on the table. Usually her mother would put the book away before falling asleep. Well, it's not like she had anything better to do. Aimi climbed up the chair and opened the book and tried learning without her mother's help. Some hours passed before she cuddled up to her mother and fell asleep. As soon as she woke up again her mother was already gone. Nothing new to her though. Being alone was a part of her daily life...

A few days past like this and Aimi's fourth birthday was approaching. It was about noon and the girl was in her room, bored. Her reading skills had become a bit better ever since she started spending more time on learning. She was eager to learn more. Curiously she opened the closet, searching for that exercising book. She found it somewhere up high between other things. It was the very first time she had opened that closet on herself. After getting herself a chair and climbing it she tried reaching for the book, but it was still out of her reach. Balancing on her tiptoes she was able to touch the item with her fingertips. After some fidgeting she was able to pull the book out of it's place. Unfortunately she lost balance, fell from the chair and pulled out some other items from the closet too. That was just typically her... A box hit hear head right after she had landed on the floor.

"Ouch... ", she freed herself from the things that had fallen onto her. She had to put that stuff back somehow. First she placed her book on the table then she looked at the mess she had left. Some not so neatly folded clothes lay there together with some other books and the box that had hit her head. Yep, with all spread on the floor it was a great mess...

Aimi wasn't sure what to do with the clothes since she didn't know how to fold them. She decided to take care of the books first. Carefully she put them back to their places. Luckily they didn't fall from too high in the closet. Afterwards she picked up the clothes and placed them on the bed. While doing that she noticed something shiny. It seemed to have fallen out of the box. Curiously she picked it up, analyzing it. It was some kind of cloth with a piece of metal stuck to it. There was something engraved to the metal, but she had never seen anything like it...

Aimi looked around and saw that other things had fallen out of the box. Strange items, reminding her of knives and stars. Carelessly she tried picking them up, but she stopped immediately after cutting herself: "Ouch!", immediately her lips had surrounded her finger. Coppery taste spread threw her mouth. Those things were sharp! Okay, now she would make sure not to touch those things again. While soothing the pain in her finger she noticed a piece of paper with a picture of Reika on it. She was wearing that metal plate thingy, a headband? There was something written there, but she hardly recognized any of those words. "Reika Shirobara... ", her mother's name was one of the very first things she had learned, "M... M-Missing? Missing what?", she grunted displeased. Most of the words on that paper were strange, she had never seen them. Her exercising book consisted mostly of animals, items of daily use and some verbs like swimming or playing. Nothing she could apply to that piece of paper.

Okay now, she definitely couldn't take care of this mess all alone. Aimi would need her mother's help, but she was a bit afraid of her reaction to this. Would she get mad at her? Probably... On the other side... Again curiosity got the best of the girl. She wanted to know what kind of items her mother possessed and why. And what was the thing behind that strange headband and her picture wearing it? After picking up the headband she left the room, searching for her mother.

Soon she found Reika in the tavern, serving food: "Mom?"

"Not now honey. Please go back into your room. I'm busy", the woman walked from one end of the room to the other.

"B-But it's important... ", Aimi followed her mother, trying her best to keep the pace and not trip and fall.

"Aimi, please leave now", another number of dishes were transported.

"I made a mess in our room and I cut myself with something."

"I'll take care of that later. Be sure to not touch it until then", the food was served and Reika hurried back to the kitchen.

"What is this thing and why are you wearing it in that picture?", she lifted both items for her mother to see it.

Reika almost tripped herself as she took a short glance at the items. Without another word she grabbed her daughter and rushed with her to the kitchen. There she was out of sight for all of the customers. Reika quickly snatched the items from her daughter.

Aimi was confused: "Mom? Are you mad? Did I do something wrong?"

"Where did you find that?", her voice was stern.

"It was a box in the closet. I wanted to get my reading book, but I lost my balance on the chair and pulled different things with me. The box fell onto my head, but it doesn't hurt anymore... "

Reika quickly checked her over. A relieved sigh left her lips as she saw that her daughter was okay: "Aimi, I'm sorry, but I can't explain you what those things are... "

"A-Are you mad? Did I do something wrong?", the girl pouted. It looked like she would cry any second.

"I'm not mad, honey", she hugged her daughter, "You stay here until I brought out my last orders and then we'll go together into the room and clean up, okay?"

Aimi nodded slowly. Reika stored the headband in her apron while throwing the piece of paper into the fires of the big oven in the kitchen. Aimi watched the picture of her mother disappear in the flames while waiting. Afterwards both of them went into their room and Reika cleaned up the mess. Aimi had to promise her that she would never tell anybody about the box and it's contents.

Since then Reika seemed somehow different, but just a tiny little bit. It was nothing people would see on her face or her behavior. It was more of a feeling that had spread in little Aimi. A feeling that something wasn't okay...

The days passed just like before. Not much had changed. Aimi would be alone, bored and would try to learn reading. Since that incident Reika didn't put the book away anymore so her daughter wouldn't have to get it. It was more or less the same until the night before the girl's birthday came.

It was about three in the morning, maybe four. Aimi couldn't really tell. All she knew was, that there was noise coming from somewhere and that the bed was feeling empty. Dozily she turned to the other side, hugging her stuffed bear. More noise entered her ear, but she tried ignoring it. She was just too sleepy to pay great attention. After a while she grunted displeased as the noise wouldn't stop. Again she rolled herself over, trying to gain a comfortable position. Not too long after that the noise stopped. Pleased she snuggled herself into the bed, slowly drifting away.

Some time later she was being bothered again, this time somebody stole her blanket: "Aimi! Wake up, honey", it seemed to be her mother, "You need to get up."

The girl just turned away again: "Don't want... be tired... "

"I know and I promise you can sleep later as much as you want, but for now you have to wake up", she lifted her daughter out of bed, placing her on a chair.

"Mom... ", Aimi yawned, "Too early... "

Reika took a pair of clothes out of the closet and gave it to her daughter: "Get dressed and give me your nightgown."

Even though she was really tired Aimi did as she was told. From time to time she would doze off for a few seconds, but in the end she was done: "Are we going somewhere?", she had noticed that her mother was packing a backpack.

Reika didn't answer. Instead she shouldered the backpack, took her daughter and left the room: "Close your eyes honey... "

Aimi hugged her mother and her bear before closing her eyes. There was definitely something wrong, but she was just too tired to do something about it. Feeling her mother walk down the stairs and further. She dozed away at a certain point, but woke up again fast enough. After a while she would look over her mothers shoulder. She could see that they had left the tavern already and that her mother was moving really fast. Smoke was coming from the house and soon it was burning, this finally woke her up.

"Mom!", she squirmed in Reika's arms, "It's burning!!! Our house! It's burning!", tears built up in her eyes.

"I know honey... I know... ", her voice was sad, "Forgive me... ", she whispered the last part, but Aimi couldn't hear it.

"Is uncle still in there? What will he say? Who did that?", she started crying, "Why are we leaving?! Why are we not helping?!"

"We can't help them anymore... ", they got further and further away from the burning house, "Calm down Aimi... We'll find a new home... "

The girl didn't understand what was going on. She just cried and pleaded her mother to go back, but it didn't help. Soon she was exhausted from crying and fell asleep in her mother's arms. '_Happy birthday, me..._ ', was the last thought before her consciousness was gone...

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**What a sad past... Poor Aimi... Too bad it's going to get worse from now on...**

**This time no sneak preview because this chapter theoretically isn't over yet. I just didn't want you guys to wait too long and that's why I split it.**

**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


	27. Forgotten Memories Part 2

White Rose

**This chapter was a real pain in the ass. I was progressing rather fine in the beginning. I had over three pages written and saved as I made a short pause. When I wanted to continue writing I had to see with shock that my progress was gone. I must have done something wrong during saving and I could have slapped myself for it. Okay, I actually did... Mentally at least... Oh, well. I still managed to stay in time...**

**Thank you goes to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, IXLoveXMyXFishy, TBadillo90, aquamarine-acaia and narutowolf**

**Another thanks goes to Black Claided Cat, TBadillo90 and narutowolf for the alert **

**My last thank you goes to Tbadillo90, gaarahugger and narutowolf for the fave**

**WARNING: A little gore warning and disturbing scenes ahead. So please be careful ^^°**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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_

Forgotten Memories Part 2

It was dark and cold. Aimi was sitting in the cellar, hiding herself between a bunch of crates. A rough rug covered her small figure. Desperately she tried keeping herself warm. If there had been just a little more light she would have seen her breath. It was really cold, but she had no right to complain. This cellar had been made to stay cool. After all perishable food and goods were stored there.

Reika had whispered soft words into her ear before leaving: "Hide in here and be quiet. I'll come get you as soon as possible", her voice had been calming, but it couldn't soothe Aimi's fear anymore. She and her mother had been fleeing for approximately a year now. Aimi knew because her birthday was inching closer with every day and it didn't make her happy at all. They had lived a lot on the road since her fourth birthday. Sometimes they had stayed in a house somewhere in nowhere for maybe a month, provided that the owners were okay with that.

This had been the first time they had stayed for more than two months in one place. Aimi didn't know why, but somehow she had already expected something like this to happen. She couldn't tell what they were fleeing from, but it must have been somebody or something her mother was really scared of.

A loud crash occurred right above her, making her freezing body cringe in fear. It had been an eternity ever since the noise had started upstairs. Metal clashing against metal, walls breaking and cries of pain echoed through her ears. She looked at the ceiling. Somewhere up there they were fighting. Reika and most probably the people that were hunting her.

Aimi pulled the rug tighter around her body, hoping that her mother would come for her soon. The low temperature was hard to tolerate, especially for her. The cellar might have been the safest place, but that didn't mean she couldn't die in there. What if she would? If her mother wouldn't come anymore, would she freeze to death? Would anybody miss her? Probably not. She had nobody except for her mother and that meant that no one except for Reika would miss her. Considering the situation she was in, her mother would rather die before she did, leaving nobody to miss her. But would Aimi herself miss her life? She couldn't tell. The only thing that really kept her going was her mother. What should she do if she'd leave her all alone? What would happen to her if Reika would... die?

Suddenly she realized that it had become quiet. No sound was heard. Was it finally over? Would Reika come for her now? Silently she left her hideout, walking to the cellar's exit. Trembling she stared at the door that led out of the cold, but nothing happened.

"**Aachoo!!**", the little girl almost fell over from the sudden impact. If anybody would have heard her, the door would have opened and somebody would have seen her by now. Since nothing like that happened she decided to leave the cellar. If she stayed any longer in that place she'd have to deal with worse than just the need to sneeze.

Cautiously she opened the door, searching for any kind of movement. As she entered the hallway she dropped the rug. After staying for nearly an eternity in the cellar the hallway felt like an oven. It was dark due to the fact that it was the middle of the night. Aimi had become a little night owl ever since the fleeing started. They had been moving mostly at night and during day nobody was supposed to see her regardless of where they were. Provided that she was in a house, usually she'd be hiding somewhere in her room, reading a book.

Her eyes drifted to some holes and scratches on the walls of the hallway. It looked like many things had been damaged. Aimi wondered if the rest of the house would look the same. Unconsciously she walked down the hallway, staring at all the damage that had been inflicted. She stopped as her feet stepped on something wet. Confused she eyed the dark liquid that had spread on the floor. It looked like it was coming from the living room. The little girl swallowed. Judging by the consistency the liquid was most probably... blood...

Slowly she outstretched her hand, aiming for the doorknob, but stopped before touching it. Did she really want to open that door? Did she really want to see what was in there? What if her mother was in there? And what if the source for this pool was her? Aimi bit her lip and touched the doorknob. What if her mother wasn't there? If she was still alive? Something inside of her pushed her to open that door. She just had to know if she was all alone in this world or not.

A low click resounded from the door before it swung open like guided by a ghost's hand. Somehow she was grateful for the fact that it was so dark. The little light made the scene in front of her eyes rather bearable. Nevertheless the sight was shocking. Aimi's eyes filled with tears almost instantly. Right in front of her lay a corpse. A female one with her back facing the girl. About two more corpses lay here and there in the living room. Trembling she knelt next to the female corpse. Was this her? Was this Reika? Again she swallowed. Nervously she outstretched her hand, gripping the woman's shoulder. A slight pull later she could see the woman's face. The skin was pale, the eyes looked empty, but luckily it wasn't her mother. Actually it was the house's owner.

Aimi was a tiny little relieved but nevertheless she didn't like what she was seeing. It was the very first dead human she had seen in her life, covered with blood in addition. Disgusted she gathered what she had left of her sanity and stood up. She had to go and check the other corpses too. Soon she saw that they were both males, that excluded the chance of being her mother. To her confusion they were wearing headbands, like her mother had worn in that old picture. But their engraved symbols were different to the one she had seen.

The girl didn't know where to search next, but that didn't really matter. Currently she felt like puking and she didn't want to stay longer in the living room than necessary. To her physical comfort the kitchen was just a door away. Trembling she rushed into the kitchen, hurrying to the sink. She felt so much better after emptying her stomach. Not only physical, but also mental. The water gave her a chance to wash the blood off her hands. Even though she was still covered in that crimson liquid it was a very pleasant feeling. Her sanity was held together by the hope that her mother was still okay. It was the reason why she was able to force herself through this nightmare. Okay, the fact that she had already expected something like this was helping too. She had prepared herself for the worst.

Low panting and silent sobbing reached her ear: "Aimi?... "

The girl turned to the voice, recognizing her mother: "M-Mom?", the woman looked very exhausted.

"Honey?! W-Why are you here?", she eyed her daughter cautiously, "A-Are you okay?", she was referring to all the blood on the girl's clothes.

"M-Mom... ", she ran up to her mother, hugging her dearly, "Mom... You're okay... ", she sobbed, "I-I saw the p-people in the l-living room... I thought you w-were one of them... "

"You've been to the living room?!", Reika knelt down to return the hug, "Aimi... Haven't I told you not to leave the cellar? I never wanted you to see that... "

"I-It was so cold d-down there... And I was a-afraid... "

"I'm so sorry... I just wanted to protect you... But all we ended up in is this mess... I'm so sorry... "

"I-It's okay mom... ", she sniffed, "A-As long as I've got y-you... Everything is okay... "

"Oh, honey... ", she hugged her daughter dearly, "We'll clean you up an afterwards we'll leave this place, okay?"

Aimi just nodded as her mother carried her away, into the bathroom. After Aimi had been cleaned up and their baggage had been packed they left. Some minutes later the house was being burned to ashes by flames.

"Mom?", Aimi squeezed her mother's hand while they were watching the house burn, "Is this what happened a year ago too? Did you burn the house?"

"It was something very similar to this... "

"Mom... I'm not dim... When you were sleeping I've sneaked myself to some of the books you have forbidden me... I read many of them... I know that somebody is after us and that their... dead now... Please tell me what's going on... "

Reika stared at her daughter with disbelief written all over her face: "A-Aimi?"

Said girl raised her head, looking at her mother with exhausted and knowing eyes. She had matured without anybody noticing. Those eyes weren't the eyes of an almost five year old girl. They looked much older.

"What have I done to you?", Reika looked like she was feeling guilty, "I've ruined your childhood... ", she was close to crying.

"Don't cry... As long as I have you I'll be happy no matter what happens... Everything will be fine in the end... But I do hope that you will tell me why this is happening. I want to understand. I want to help you as much as possible... ", she hugged her mother.

Reika smiled sadly: "You've grown very fast... Faster than you should have and that's my fault. I guess the best thing I can do know is to be honest with you... "

"I like honesty, mom. Honesty is the best policy... ", they left the scene, walking along a lonely path through a forest.

"Aimi, honey... I was born and raised in Kumogakure as part of the Shirobara clan. I used to be a highly appreciated shinobi back then. Do you know what a shinobi is?"

"I've read something about them, but I'm not sure how to identify them."

"Do you remember the headband you found and the picture of me, wearing it?", the girl nodded, "The symbol engraved to such a headband identifies the village a shinobi comes from and works in."

"So those guys I saw in the living room were shinobis too... "

"Yes... You see, I... How can I put it?", she bit her lip, "A few years ago I fell in love with your father. People can't decide with whom they fall in love. It just happens... Unfortunately I was already promised to another man. My family, my clan... They were very strict about my engagement with that man. I for myself was never fine with that. I was rebellious and secretly spent much time with your father... I broke the rules by getting myself involved with him, but I didn't care much. At least until I was told that I would have a baby, you... ", she sighed.

"Are the things that are happening to us my fault?", Aimi looked sad.

"No, honey... It was my decision to have you... I tried hiding it from my clan, but they found out. Of course they forbid me to see your father again. Nevertheless he still came to see me and I was happy. He always told me that he would take me away some day, take care of our little family... Next thing I knew was that he had gone to my parents for my sake. One of the maids had told me... I was more than delighted to say the least, but I had a real bad feeling about it. Hours had passed as your father was dragged out of our main house by a man I had never seen before. There was also a woman with him and I could hear them calling him little brother, but they didn't look like siblings at all. Your father kept yelling my name, telling me to never give up, to never forget him. I had no clue what he wanted. I jumped out of the window, ran to him, but it was too late. A seal had been built around him and a Katana had been driven through his chest. I watched him disappear into nothing. I don't know what his so called siblings had done to him, but it had looked very cruel. The woman grinned satisfied while the man looked at me apologetically and bowed. He said something strange... It was his own fault, I'm sorry... "

"So they killed dad?... ", Aimi squeezed her mother's hand again.

"That's what my clan had assumed. Your father never came back to me so it must have been true... I was told that my father had also died on that day and nobody knew why. Sometimes I had wondered if those things had something to do with one another, but I never found out... Anyway... I was heartbroken that your father was gone for good, but at least I would have his child. That thought kept me going... The months passed and the question of what would happen to you became more and more important. Due to the fact that my child was held a secret there were some suggestions I didn't like at all. My clan was thinking of disposing my flesh and blood. Some said that you should be sold for a great amount of money to a different country. Others just wanted to see you dead and me married to my fiancee. Either way I despised whatever ideas they had. I was lucky that the elders hadn't decided what would happen to you after you had been born. I took my chance and fled together with you. Nobody would be allowed to take you away from me... Of course this had consequences... Soon I had been marked as a missing-nin and hunted... "

"It's my fault after all... ", Aimi started crying again.

Both of them stopped walking: "No, honey. It's not your fault. It was my decision and therefor my fault. Don't give yourself the fault, because you haven't done anything wrong. The day you found the wanted poster of me and showed it around was my fault too. I should have hidden it better, or destroy it from the very beginning. I should have warned you... I did wrong, not you. A child is too young to understand many things in this world and that's why parents have to take care of them. Parents love their children and will do everything to protect them. That's how it works. I know that you're trying to help me, but you're only ruining your own childhood. You're forcing yourself to grow up mentally too fast. I beg you please, don't worry about anything. I will take care of you because I love you as my child. Do you understand that?", again they hugged.

Aimi sniffed: "I-I'll try... ", she wiped away her tears, "W-Where are we going now?"

"We'll be going somewhere I should have gone long ago... ", they started walking again, "We'll go to one of the five great shinobi villages to seek asylum. As far as I know Sunagakure is closest to here. We'll be traveling a few days... "

"Will we f-find a permanent home in Suna?", she sniffed.

"I'm sure we will", Reika smiled, "Just think positive, okay?"

Aimi nodded and smiled herself: "Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"One more question... "

"Go on... "

"About dad... What was his name?"

Reika smiled softly: "His name was Akaro... Akaro Hodori..."...

* * *

Days had passed. Reika and her daughter had made it safely to the village hidden in the sand. To her surprise they had been brought to the Kazekage's office, not one of his underlings. In the middle of the night nonetheless.

The woman knocked carefully at the door before a slightly annoyed: "Enter!", was heard.

After entering the office a second, male voice was heard: "You should really think about the offer, Yondaime-dono... "

"I will send message to you. Now leave... ", the Kazekage moved his hand dismissively.

The man gritted his teeth and bowed. He looked rather displeased by this answer. Aimi couldn't help but stare at this man. He had something strange about him. Between his black bangs she could see his onyx eye, looking right at her. For one second she could have sworn that it had been yellow, but she was probably just seeing things. As the man left the office she hid behind her mother, clutching one of her legs. As the doors were closed she just kept staring at them. That man... She had an awkward feeling about him. Something about him was creeping her out...

"But what am I supposed to do then?!", Reika sounded desperate, bringing Aimi's attention back to the more important thing.

"That is none of my business. You may stay here for the rest of the night, but I want you gone by tomorrow morning. I have no interest in turning you in. I don't like Kumo very much and I won't do them any favor as far as possible, but I must admit that the money set on your head is worth a lot. It's rather tempting... ", the Kazekage smirked.

"How can you be so heartless? Can't you see that I'm with a child? I haven't done any crime!", Reika was begging to him, "Please, can't you do anything?"

"We have other, much more important issues in this village. If we take you in, we will have to deal with more than we can take at the moment. If you are in quick need of help this is the wrong address. I want you to leave this place by tomorrow morning the latest. Do you understand?", he gave her a glare.

Reika gritted her teeth and clenched her fists: "I understand... ", she turned around and grabbed her daughter's hand, "Let's go honey... "

Aimi remained silent, looking back at the man that had declined her mother's request. His face looked annoyed, maybe even angry, but his eyes told a different story. The were filled with pain and sorrow. Especially when they looked at Reika and her. The little girl decided to not give it another thought. After all she had promised her mother to try and not think too much about things. Aimi wasn't a person to break a promise. Soon they had left the building, walking along an almost empty street.

"Excuse me?", a male voice came out of the darkness in an alleyway.

"What do you want?", Reika glared at the man that had walked out of the darkness.

It was the same man from the Kage's office: "I couldn't help but feel affected by your appearance. You look like you've been declined by Yondaime too?"

"What are you referring to?"

"I know that you are seeking asylum. The guard that burst into the office was quite clear about your wish and I do understand it. I would like to talk with you about that", he gave her a coy smile.

"There is a catch, right?"

"Nothing in this world is for free. Somebody like you should know better than anyone else. Either way I would be happy to negotiate with you. I'm sure that we can find an arrangement that fits us both. Like I said, I just want to talk... "

Reika eyed the man suspiciously before looking around. She seemed to have spotted something before turning back to the man: "Let me take care of my daughter first and then we can talk... "

The man nodded curtly. Reik walked away, taking her daughter with her: "Mom? Where are you taking me?"

"Right up ahead is a playground", she smiled sadly, "While I'll be talking with that man you can spend some time there, okay? I'll be just a few steps away, watching you."

"I don't like him. He's creepy... Something about him is strange... "

"I don't like him either, but I think that I should listen to what he has to say. I can still decline his suggestion, you know?"

"Do you have to do that?", Aimi bit her lip.

"If there is a chance to give you a pleasant life, then yes. I have to", they had arrived at the playground and stopped, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Your mom can take good care of herself. I'll take our baggage with me so you can play freely. Have a little fun until I come get you, okay?", she smiled.

"Okay... ", the little girl turned away from her mother, taking a few step towards the swing. As she wanted to look back at her mother, she was already gone. That was how she got to that playground on that night. That was how she had met her first friend and later first love. But the circumstances of their meeting had been a little bit different than the memory Aimi had had first.

She hadn't been scared because she had never seen any other person. She had been scared because she thought that strange man had come to her. Besides of that it wasn't just the fact that Gaara had been crying that had attracted her so much. She had been extremely intrigued to see a child, one in her age nevertheless. It had been a very pleasant feeling to know that she wasn't alone in the world.

Of course she had been sad to be taken away by her mother, but somehow she couldn't help but smile. Maybe they would see each other again. No. They would surely see each other again...

Aimi was being dragged away out of the village: "Mom? Didn't that Yondaime say that we could stay for the night?", the girl was a bit confused.

"He did, but it looks like he changed his mind... That black haired man told me about it. Even if I can't agree with his ideas I am thankful for his warning... ", Reika discarded some of her baggage, leaving it in the sand.

"Mom? What's going on?", Aimi looked at the lost items.

"We have to be quick and that means I have to loose weight. The Kazekage sent shinobi after us."

"Why?!"

"I'm not sure, but I won't let them get us!", Reika lifted her daughter and increased her speed, "Don't worry, honey... Everything will be fine... "

If Reika had known back then how wrong she had been...

* * *

"Uuhgh... ", Reika had rolled up on grassy ground, holding her stomach. Some hours had passed after leaving Sunagakure. Yondaime's shinobi had caught up some time ago and Reika had fought for her and her daughter's dear life.

"M-Mom?... ", Aimi looked at the woman, tears in her eyes, "P-Please get up... "

Some dead and half-dead shinobi were to see around the girl and her mother. Obvisouly Reika had won the fight, but to what price?

"Aimi... Promise me you'll never give up whatever happens, okay?", blood came pouring out between her fingers, coloring the grass. She looked badly injured. Her face was slowly paling.

"What are you talking about?! You'll get fine again! We'll go to a different village and they'll let us stay! We'll live happy together!", Aimi felt so helpless. She couldn't do anything else but talk.

"Of course everything will be fine... ", Reika smiled, "You'll find your own way in this world... "

"**Stop saying such nonsense!!!**"

"My, my... This is very touching... ", it was the dark haired man again.

Reika gave him a glare: "Why are you here?"

"Well, I actually thought of giving you a hand. Show you some good will, but it looks like I'm too late. Am I right?", he walked up to them, not caring if he stepped on the shinobis around them or not, "I didn't betray you if it is that what you think... "

"**You stay away from her!**", Aimi was glaring at him too.

The man just ignored her, coming closer by the second: "Now that you're dying I'd say my offer to you has been nullified... ", he stopped a few steps away, "What a pity. You would have made a great warrior under my wing... I can't use you like this anymore... "

"Get lost, you... ", Reika flinched.

"What a bad mother you are... Leaving your daughter all alone... "

"**Shut up! She won't leave me!**", Aimi clenched her fists.

"I don't think that you can help her. You are but a mere child and somebody must take care of you... What a coincidence that I am in need of children right now", he chuckled.

"Don't you dare to touch her!", Reika tried getting up again.

Suddenly a bunch of snakes appeared out of nowhere, wrapping themselves around the woman's and the girl's body. Both of them tried freeing themselves, but they were too weak.

"I don't have time for such nonsense. I tell you what. I'll be a real gentlemen and stop the suffering of yours, Reika. Then I'll take Aimi with me so you won't have to worry about her", he pulled off a mask from his face.

Now he looked different and Reika's attitude seemed to have changed: "No! Please! Please don't do that!", she squirmed helplessly, fear all over her face.

The man pulled a sword out of his own throat while walking to the woman.

"**Mom!**", Aimi watched terrified as the weapon was forced through Reika's body. Blood sprinkled the girl's face. She was too shocked to do anything but watch. The man just chuckled, licking some blood off his lips. Slowly her world turned black. She had lost her consciousness...

That had been the day her living hell had begun...

By the time she woke up again she found herself in a small cage, next to many others that had the same size. They were located somewhere underground. Poor hygiene and little food awaited her by the look of it. In each and everyone of cages she could see other children. Most of them were about her age. Some older and some younger. Most children were sitting in a corner of their cage, crying out their eyes. Especially the younger ones. The older ones tried getting out, but soon they had to face the fact that it was no use. And Aimi?

She was unnaturally calm. Maybe it was because she had a feeling that it couldn't get much worse from then on. Maybe it was because she stopped caring... Maybe because her heart had stopped beating... She wasn't sure. But one thing had remained in her mind. The promise her mother had asked of her. She decided to follow that promise.

'_Never give up no matter what happens..._ ', she looked to her left. There sat a girl. Maybe four years old, crying desperately for her family. Aimi outstretched her hand through the cage's bars, petting the girl's head. Of course the first reaction to this was a frightened face and a jump back from the touch.

"It's okay... I won't hurt you... I'm stuck here too... ", Aimi averted her eyes, "I... I just wanted some comfort... "

The girl kept staring at her for a moment before inching closer: "L-L-Like a h-hug?"

She smiled sadly: "Yeah... a hug... "

It took the younger girl some time to gather up courage, but both of them ended in a semi-hug, disturbed by their cage's bars. Soon the other children noticed and tried doing the same with their neighbors. It gave comfort to all of them. It seemed that they had finally understood that they weren't alone in this hell. If they would die, then surely not alone. And that kept their sanity at least a tiny little bit going.

Some years went by. Day in, day out approximately the same things happened. Sleep, eat, answer questions. Sometimes they would get strange things to eat or swallow, maybe even injected. They were all but guinea-pigs in this place and none of them dared to refuse an order. The first and last that had ever refused an order hat been executed in front of all the others. Of course everybody had been terrified, well, except for Aimi.

She had expected such things. She had already seen such things. It was nothing new to her, nothing shocking anymore. After that other children died because of the substances they were given, but at least most of them died peacefully while sleeping. Others got sick and felt pain. But worst of all were those who lost parts of their bodies or mutated. They got executed as soon as they had lost their usefulness.

Sometimes new children arrived, filling up the empty spaces left by the dead. Sometimes they would take one of them away to never be seen again. It was a gruesome place, but like promised Aimi had never given up. She knew tat one day she would get out. She would see the sun again, live her life the way she wanted. Through all of the hopeless days she had remained optimistic.

One day she got taken away, brought to an isolated room. The room held many medical instruments, cupboards, documents, chemicals, an examination table and a cage that was most probably meant for her. This was where she met the devil, that had brought her into this situation, again. He introduced himself as Orochimaru. He was nice to her, trying to get on her good side, but she wasn't dim. She remained stubborn and refused any of his offers. She knew better than to trust that devil. Unfortunately that didn't stop him of doing with her whatever he wanted.

Often she got drugged or blood taken from her. Substances were forced down her throat... The list of things that were done to her went on and on. Most of the time he would curse because his experiments on Aimi had failed. She only got sick of everything he did to her. She'd feel horrible for a few days, but was afterwards as fine as she could be, considering the circumstances. Dizziness, puking and pain were the only reactions he had achieved and it made him angry and intrigued at the same time.

He sometimes told her that she was the only one that didn't react to his so called medicine. And he wanted to find out why. To Aimi's luck it never came to that.

She was about ten years old as Orochimaru's underground facility was raided by some shinobis. They took all the data they had achieved, but left everything else behind. As soon as Orochimaru had left his hideout he blew everything up. He didn't care for Aimi or the children he had caught. He didn't care for his besiegers. And least he cared for his underlings that were still in there. At least that was what Aimi had assumed.

Everything broke. First the floor cracked open, then smaller rocks fell from the ceiling, damaging her cage. The busted cage gave her a chance to escape and she took it without hesitation. She ran as fast as she could to the place she knew the other children would be, but on her way there the floor under her feet collapsed. It looked like his hideout had been built partly on top of an underground river.

Aimi fell into unknown depths, getting injured by flying rocks. Before she landed in water she broke a leg on a stalagmite. The flowing river swiped her into other parts of the cave it was flowing through. Many times she hit a rough wall, damaging her body more and more, weakening her. Soon she was too weak to fight against the water, slowly drowning. The last thing she could feel was outrageous pain in her head. And then...

Well, she didn't really know what exactly happened then. She could just remember a soft, white light. Like the one before she awakened and met Asuma. That light and a soft push to her back...

-Dream/Memory-

After that her new life had started. And she had cherished almost every second of it. What was going to happen to her now? Would she be treated the same way she had been treated as a child? Or maybe even worse?

She didn't know... But she knew that consciousness was slowly coming back to her. Wearily she moved her eyelids, letting light touch her pupils. Slowly she turned her head to the side, her eyes searching the room. Then she saw him. The devil impersonated and his heartless servitor.

"Good morning, Aimi-chan. I hope you have slept well... ", Orochimaru smirked...

* * *

**I feel so awfully sorry for her. It nearly broke my heart writing this part...**

**But hey, she survived it and grew strong. I really admire that...

* * *

**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Temari: They're back?! Dog and Lizard are back? What about Bara?**

**Kankuro: You better ask themselves...

* * *

**

**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


	28. The Gathering

White Rose

**Damn. I gotta tell you guys that this week and this chapter were really nerve wrecking. It took me an eternity to figure out how to put everything together what I've written so far. To my annoyance my (rather new) PC had to get himself a Trojan and Firefox wouldn't start. Well, that wasn't even the worst part. After letting my Antivir go through my Data and "repair" everything he wanted to reboot. I thought that everything would be okay, but NOOOOOOO. My log-in didn't work anymore... **

**Long story short: I've done some formatting on my PC, got a new OS and will have to reinstall all my stuff coming week...  
**

**Thank you goes to the people who reviewed the last chapter: katarauchiha653719, Animestar001, darkheart1992, Jeni and Sandra1920499**

**Next thank you goes to lydiajudith, lil mutt face grl and twilightchick13 for the fave**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. I've warned you! ^^°**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

The Gathering

"_Gaara, Temari!", Kankuro stood in the doorway, panting heavily._

"_Kankuro? What's wrong?", Temari raised an eyebrow._

"_It's... Dog... Lizard... ", he took a deep breath, "Dog and Lizard have returned... "_

"They're back?! Dog and Lizard are back? What about Bara?!", her face lighted up while Gaara stared disbelievingly at his older brother.

Kankuro wiped some sweat off his face: "You better ask themselves... I haven't seen them. I just got told that they had returned, talking something about Gaara here being dead", said boy's eyes widened, "Nonsense if you ask me, but that's the actual reason why that Jonin wanted to talk to us. They were kept at the gates. I ordered them to come here immediately. I thought that would be the best... ", he took a deep breath.

"So they should be here any second then", Temari stood up, "I really wonder why they would say something as strange as that... ", she eyed her youngest brother.

Gaara seemed to be somewhere else, contemplating something. By the look on his face nobody could tell what he was thinking. Well, apparently he was asking himself the same question as his two siblings. Why would the two Anbu talk about his death? There was no way they could have found out before coming back to the village... Was there?

"They're coming... ", Kankuro closed the door that led to the room as the window was opened from outside.

Dog was the first to jump in: "**Kazekage-sama?!**"

Lizard went in next: "Stop yelling, Dog. Apparently he is in this room and alive... His chakra signal has changed and I almost didn't recognize it, but it's him... "

Gaara was staring at the opened window, hope gleaming in his mind. Maybe she was shy or embarrassed, afraid to enter the room. He couldn't tell, shyness and embarrassment were hardly known emotions to him. What he did know was that Bara always acted strange when it came to him. Slowly, almost hesitantly he stood up from his chair, his eyes never leaving the window. She just had to be there! He couldn't tell what he would do if she wasn't. All that he wanted was Bara to be by his side. He wanted the feeling of loneliness to disappear into nothing. Just like a few days ago, back in Chiyo's flower shop. The intimate moments he had shared with Bara back then were very precious memories to him...

"Where's Bara?", Temari's voice ripped Gaara out of his trance.

"She's not with us... ", a sad voice came from the window. Enma was sitting on the windowsill, his body not moving an inch.

Gaara's facial expression hardened slowly. He had dared to hope. He had dared to hope that she would be back by his side just to be crushed by reality. Again... He wanted an explanation to all of this. He wanted to know who was responsible for this. He was irritated and in the back of his mind he was very close to killing the one at fault. No matter who that might be.

"What's with the monkey? And why is it wearing a Konoha headband and a Suna wristband? Never seen it before... ", Kankuro seemed skeptic.

"He is Enkou ou Enma, king of monkeys. Former companion of Sandaime Hokage and now Bara's summoning partner", Lizard took a step to the side, enabling a better sight of Enma.

Kankuro's mouth stood agape while Temari just stared. Gaara was the only one scanning the monkey systematically: "She can summon? Where did she get the contract from?"

"I gave her the contract after she summoned me. She used a long forgotten technique, but by the look on her face back then I surely wasn't her first choice... "

_'She must have used her library then... _', the Kazekage could hardly believe how many times she had surprised him by now. But there were much more important things to do then and there: "Dog, Lizard!"

Both Anbu stood straight: "Kazekage-sama?", Enma's eyes shifted to Gaara.

"I want information on what happened and I'm not talking about a report on my desk... TALK - NOW... ", it was evident that the Kazekage was in a foul mood so both Anbu started their explanation. The more they explained the harder his expression became. Of course Temari added some of her info to the whole story, trying to save Baki's life. Gaara decided to not kill him, but he sent Dog out to get him. He would need to have a talk with his old sensei. As the explanations went on he slowly realized that Enma was staring at him intensely.

Gaara raised his hand to silence Lizard: "Why are you staring?"

"I was just wondering... You are the fifth Kazekage... ", Enma left the windowsill, walking to him.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No problem at all... ", the monkey stopped right in front of the boy, "So you are the one she trea-"

The door swung open, interrupting whatever was going on in the room. Baki was standing there, color slowly leaving his face: "Urks... "

"YOU!", Emna snarled, making Baki flinch. The Jonin recognized the monkey as Bara's companion. But he looked much bigger from this distance and definitely much more intimidating: "You were the one that attacked us in the desert... "

Baki gathered his frame before doing anything else. He wasn't somebody to show much emotions, but the fact that Enma had been standing right in front of him was something he surely hadn't expected to see. Dog, who was standing right behind the Jonin, pushed him inside before closing the door behind him.

"Kazekage-sama", Baki bowed, "You wish to have a word with me?"

"You will be suspended from your post for three months, starting from tomorrow. No payment... ", Gaara uttered the words like others would say hello.

"But-", the Jonin silenced himself as he saw the Kazekage's face. His expression was one of: Be happy for your punishment, for it could have been MUCH worse. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what would happen to him if he would really talk back.

"Is there anything you would like to add, Baki?", he was daring him to open his mouth and protest.

"I wanted to ask if there was anything else I can do for you... "

"You will stay here for now", Gaara turned back to the monkey king, "Enma, am I correct?", said being nodded, "Can you tell me how and why she escaped from here?"

"The answer as to how she was able to escape would be me. I helped her get out of the hospital since she was injured. Together we tried to sneak through the village's gates, but this... human here", his hand motioned towards Baki, "He attacked us, making our plans rather... difficult", Enma gave him a glare, "I was close to thinking that Bara and I would die in the desert because we were trapped between his attacks and a furious sandstorm that had been approaching us very fast... "

"It had never been my intention to kill you two back then. I wanted to arrest you, ask questions about Kazekage-sama's abduction. You two made yourselves very suspicious of being involved into those events.. ", Baki returned the glare, "How was I supposed to know that you were out there for a much different reason? Walking around in disguise is most likely nothing somebody innocent would do. Or am I mistaken?"

Gaara listened to both of them talking. He would let them continue as long as they stayed away from each others throats. After all they were giving precious information to him.

Enma calmed down a bit: "You are right. But it's not like you would have let an injured girl just walk out of the village, is it? With or without my presence you wouldn't have given her a permission to leave. I'm pretty sure about that. I don't know what rank she has in this village, but even if she was one of your best Jonin you wouldn't have let her go save the Kazekage."

"Would you mind repeating that last thing you just said?", Gaara's expression had softened considerably.

Enma's eyes shifted to the boy, scanning his face: "You mean the reason as to why she left?"

The Kazekage nodded: "I have already asked you for an answer to that. Be so kind as to enlighten me further about this topic... "

The monkey unconsciously recalled memories of the girl they were talking about. Bara had left because of this boy. She had left because she loved him... She had left to save his life only to find out that he was dead... Just a second! He was living, breathing and currently standing in front of the monkey. No doubt that this must have been the boy she had been talking about. Enma couldn't sense Henge and the Anbu had called him Kazekage. But how could he still be alive? The monkey had been so sure that he was dead!

"Enma?", Gaara motioned one of his hands towards said being, "Please... I need to know... ", nevertheless his face had remained stoic.

Enma brushed the thoughts away. He would surely have more than just this opportunity to ask about the exact circumstances of the Kazekage's death or rather life. Quickly he redirected his mind to his little, female companion... She loved him. She loved him very much, but could he just spill this secret upon this boy? He knew that she hadn't told him yet. He knew that she had wanted to let him know, but it was not his duty to tell him. It was hers... Fortunately that information was not important at this moment: "She left to save you... She begged me to help her get you back... ", he stopped, grunting displeased. He should have left the last part out, but now it was too late.

"Begged? She begged you?", the boy seemed slightly confused.

"I guess that's because I was anything else than cooperative at the beginning. She told me that it would have been close to impossible for her to get out of the village or even the hospital without any help. I was the only option she had... "

"I see... Why did you help her then? If you were uncooperative. What changed your mind?"

Enma stopped for a moment: "Good question... She was the first human I had met in over two years... And she reminded me much of an old friend... I guess I felt responsible for her... I actually DO feel responsible for her... Especially now that she is gone... It was my fault for not paying enough attention... "

"I guess that would lead me to my next question. Why isn't she with you? What happened? Dog and Lizard told me that they found only you, nobody else... "

"She... ", Enma tried to choose his words wisely, but somehow it wouldn't work, "She got kidnapped... "

Silence spread through the room. It was like time itself had frozen. A moment of eternity had passed before anything else happened.

"What?!", Temari broke the silence, taking a dose of fresh air as she realized that she had stopped breathing.

Kankuro copied her actions shortly after. His lungs had been screaming for oxygen: "How?! Why?! And WHO?!", he clenched his fists.

Enma crossed his arms in front of his chest: "I am anything else than pleased to know who did it... "

"Spill the beans... ", Kankuro's feelings tainted his mind, "I want to know who the bastard is... ", he gritted his teeth, glaring daggers at the monkey king. The boxed up sadness and anger were pouring into his being. It was evident to everybody in the room that he had become seriously wroth: "Why would anybody want to kidnap her? There's nothing special about her that would be reason enough to abduct her! She's got no Kekkei Genkai nor has she any special ability! I can't believe that anybody would do that!"

"That's not true... ", Enma went back to sit on the windowsill, "She seems to have some special abilities and I'm not sure that I've seen all of them... "

Kankuro glared at the monkey: "What do you know?!", his glare was immediately returned.

"Calm down Kankuro... ", Gaara had spoken. His eyes were glued to the ground.

"I should calm down?", he walked to his brother, "I tell you that you are definitely too calm for the current situation! Don't tell me this whole thing isn't affecting you at all!", Kankuro searched his brothers face for a reaction, but nothing happened. The Kazekage's eyes shifted upon his brother's.

To Kankuro they were a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. They had always been. Those endless pools of blue looked empty to him: "A-Are you kidding me?!", his face lay in confusion, "Is there nothing in your heart?! After all she did for you? After all those things you told me a few days ago? Don't tell me those had been lies?! Don't you care at all for the girl that almost died for you?! The girl that had given her life for your sake? The girl that truly... ", his voice slowly died down.

This was no fair! If Gaara really didn't feel a thing for Bara he didn't deserve her! How could he stay so composed over her abduction? Kankuro's heart was aching. He wanted to trust his brother, but how could he? He didn't even defend himself against the accusations thrown at him. He just stood there, staring.

After a few seconds the Kazekage finally averted his gaze: "What I told you back then was true... And I want her back more than anything else, but if I loose control of myself now I won't be of any help... I'm trying my best to keep myself sane. As much as I would want to spill blood all over this place, it would be the wrong way to deal with it... I've discarded that part of me a long time ago and I'm really trying to not go back to the... monster I was... And it's hard. Harder than I could have imagined it could ever be... Especially I as Kazekage, who carries a large responsibility on his shoulders, can't allow myself to rush things... "

Kankuro froze. His brother was right. A sarcastic scoff went through his head. He was an idiot. He had let his feelings take over his sanity and reason. Worst was the fact that he had almost said something he wasn't supposed to say. Good thing he hadn't done it. Hopefully nobody had noticed what his feelings towards Bara were, but he couldn't help but doubt it.

The brunette sighed: "Forgive me... I almost thought you had abandoned your own beliefs", his eyes glued themselves to the ground, "I still remember how you said that you wanted to protect the people of this village... How you wanted to be respected and have friends... I would have been very disappointed of you if you would have abandoned her. After all she is not only an inhabitant of Sunagakure but also your friend. One with a heart of pure gold... "

"She is more than a friend to me... ", the room became silent again, "I'm not sure but I think that... LOVE would be the proper definition of what I feel for her... "

"K-Kazekage-sama?!", Dog seemed confused. He was about to do something as Lizard stopped him, shaking his head.

Temari was close to tears. She was happy and sad at the same time. She was very happy because her baby brother had finally opened his heart to someone. Unfortunately her sadness came from the fact that the person Gaara had feelings for had been taken away from him. If she had just run away it wouldn't have been that bad. They could have brought her back, treat possible injuries, but now? Bara had been kidnapped and judging by the Anbu and Enma returning to the village they had lost track of her. That meant as much as: We don't know where she is or how to find her.

Enma just stared at the young Kazekage. He would have been happy for him and the girl. It wasn't an every day thing to see two people love each other in this world. A rare sight he would have truly enjoyed if both of them would have been together by now, but exactly that wasn't the case.

Kankuro was the one to give a rather unexpected reaction to just heard news. It took him a short amount of time to recollect his mind before he was able to react, but he did. He grinned: "So my little bro finally found a girl he likes?"

Everybody in the room stared at him, but only Temari dared to speak: "Kankuro?"

"What? I'm just congratulating!", he turned to his brother, "We brought you back so we'll bring her back too! So don't get too upset", he gave him a wink, "Everything for my little brother!"

Gaara nodded: "Thank you... ", he folded his arms in front of his chest before turning to Enma, "Please proceed. Every information is precious... Who kidnapped her?"

The monkey took a deep breath of air and nodded: "It's Orochimaru... His lackey kidnapped her... "

"That's no good... ", Temari bit her thumb, "As far as I remember he's the guy that killed father and wanted to destroy Konoha... He's dangerous... "

Kankuro: "Isn't he also the person that Naruto is after? Because a friend of him went to follow that bastard? What was his name again?"

Gaara: "Uchiha... Uchiha Sasuke... "

Kankuro: "Exactly! That's him! That guy you fought during our first Chuunin exams!"

Temari grunted annoyed: "That guy is such a pain in the ass... ", she clasped a hand over her mouth as her brothers looked at her.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow: "Right now you sounded just like that lazy ass pineapple head... "

Gaara: "We have no time for that. Temari, you will be in Konoha for the Chuunin exams anyway, right?"

Temari: "That's true."

Gaara: "I want you to be on your way as soon as possible. When you arrive there I want you to talk to the Hokage... "

Temari: "You want me to request aid in the matter of Orochimaru, right?"

Gaara: "Correct."

Kankuro: "But why not send a message to them right now?"

Gaara: "I don't want the council to know. Neither ours nor theirs. I want this to stay a private matter between me, the people in this room and Tsunade-san. She is allowed to give whatever information she wants to Naruto, but only him. If I just send a message to Konoha I don't know who will read it... In any case, I'm convinced that you know what to do, Temari."

Temari: "Of course. I'll be gone by today."

Kankuro: "I don't understand why you don't want to let anybody else know... "

Gaara: "It's because I promised her... Enma was right when he said that Bara has some special abilities. She is special enough to give good reason for her abduction... "

Kankuro: "You must be kidding me. Though the idea of you making a joke is kinda freaking me out... "

Temari: "Kankuro, he's right. Bara told me herself. I don't know what exactly is so special about her, but it's true... "

The brunette stared at his sister. Why didn't he know about it? Wasn't he trustworthy?...

Gaara: "Either way I am going to create a mission concerning this."

Kankuro: "And let me guess. I will be assigned to it?"

Gaara: "Precisely... "

Kankuro: "You can count on me then."

Lizard: "What about us?"

Gaara: "For now you are dismissed. I will let you know if there should be anything else", both nodded and disappeared.

"I guess same goes for us?", Temari motioned towards herself and Kankuro.

"That is true. I would like to talk to Enma in private... "

"Let me know when there's something I can do... ", Kankuro left the room first, closely followed by his sister.

"Kankuro, I need to talk to you... ", the blonde tried to stop him, but he just kept walking.

"There is nothing I have to say now... ", he took up the pace.

"Oh, yeah? Then you don't have to say anything about that little show you pulled back in that room?"

"No."

"Nothing like: Oh, hey, little bro! I've got the hots for your girl!", she tried imitating the way Kankuro usually talked.

Immediately he stopped, his fist crashing into a wall. Temari froze, staring at the bloodstains left on the concrete. He took a moment before turning to her: "I don't think that it is any of your concern who I like and who I don't like... It's not like I would have had a chance with her anyway... Listen. If Gaara hasn't noticed yet it's better that way, because no matter what I feel I will do my best to bring her back to where she wants to be... I don't want to hurt them. Neither Gaara nor Bara... "

"But you're hurting yourself... ", she crossed her arms in front if her chest, giving him a look of annoyance.

"I'm not made of glass, Temari. After hitting me so many times you should know... Whatever makes both of them happy will be absolutely fine with me... "

"And if they won't be happy together?"

"Then he should better watch his backside, but that is unimportant now and you know that... First things first. We have to save her and anything else is secondary... "

Temari sighed: "Fine. But you do realize that the time will come when you will have to deal with it... "

"I do know that... "

"Good. And while you're here you should get that fixed", she pointed towards his hand.

"Yeah... ", he looked at his aching knuckles...

* * *

"Enma, there is something I would like to ask you", Gaara took a few steps towards said being.

"Feel free... "

"Where did you get the information that I was dead?"

"So you really were dead? I wondered ever since the Anbu and I reached the gates... "

"It is correct that I have been dead, but that doesn't answer my question... "

"Bara told me that you had died... It's the actual reason why we were so distracted... "

Gaara looked confused: "But how did she know?"

"I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with the pendant she had been carrying with her."

"A pendant? Are you sure?"

"Hmhm", Enma confirmed the question.

Of course! How could he have forgotten? Quickly he looked around the room, his eyes setting upon the table where her birthday gifts lay. He found the small parcel he had placed there a few days ago, but the pendant was gone. She had left the handkerchief though. No wonder she knew where she had to go to. This surely explained a few things.

His hand wandered to his chest, his fingertips searching for his own pendant that should have been somewhere hidden beneath his clothes. Unfortunately he couldn't find it. Not only had he totally forgotten about such a precious item, he had also lost it! His only chance to find her quickly had been the pendant and now it was gone!...

* * *

**Looks like things aren't getting better, huh? But I guess Gaara is doing a good job staying calm in this situation. Respect for that. Especially since Kankuro can't... Poor him though. He seems desperate...

* * *

**

**Sneak Preview:**

**Shikamaru: Oh, wow. You came back quite fast. Shouldn't you better stay at home and take care of the things there? _bored_**

**Temari: Gaara can take care of himself...**

**Shikamaru: Don't tell me you missed me...**

**Temari: Shut up you dimwit!!! _glare

* * *

_**

**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


	29. Doubts

White Rose

**I am SO sorry, you guys! It took me forever to write this chapter and I am sooo sorry for making you all wait. I hope you accept my humble apology. I will even fall to my knees and kiss your feet if you won't abandon me because of this. D:**

**But I have to say that I've been loaded with tons of work from my university. Luckily my semester is over and I'm more or less (rather less I'd say) enjoying my break. I still have loads of work to do, but now I'm not under such time pressure as I used to be not too long ago. There is a 3D contest which is organized by my university which I am currently participating. Or at least I want to participate. Deadline is the 26th of February and I kinda have to start from scratch and design a whole scenery in a rather short period of time... Don't ask how I've gotten myself into this, but I can't chicken out since I will need the 3D models for my Bachelor thesis. Yup, I'm sooooo smart. _Sarcasm_**

**However I'm not thinking about letting you guys wait for nothing. I'll do my 3D work and I'll continue writing, so please don't worry if I'm late with updating. This project will not be abandoned. I'll stop it here an let you read already ^^°**

**My thank you goes to the people who reviewed since I updated last time: Melissadoll, marc, Dream weaver's victim, katarauchiha653719, SpikeKitten, darkheart1992, enapets21, Animestar001 and Sandra1920499**

**Another thank you goes to Ulquiorra-Schiffer-4, ShadowShinobi18, WritersLove, kit1029, Dream weaver's victim, lunatrick and edwardlover2010 for faving this.**

**The last thank you goes to WritersLove, Dream weaver's victim, KaelynMarie, lunatrick, assira and UnForGettable323 for alerting.**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

* * *

_

Doubts

"Everything alright?", Enma seemed concerned, "You look lost... "

Gaara slowly shook his head: "Not me but a very precious item. You see, I know of this pendant you were talking about. I had one myself, able to track her... "

"Had?", a pulse of blood ran through the monkey's body, heartbeat quickening, "Did it shatter?!"

"I don't know. I must have lost it at the time I had been abducted since I can't find it in place... But I do hope that she is still fine... "

Enma took a deep breath: "I'm afraid I'm not much of a help at the moment. There is no way for me to find her unless she summons one of my kind... ", he scoffed, "I doubt she will be given the mere opportunity to do anything... "

The Kazekage massaged the root of his nose, he could feel a headache coming. Too much had happened in such a short time. He needed some rest and he needed it badly: "Enma, I can't tell you what to do. You are a free being. I believe you are able to decide for yourself whether you want to help me or not. But there is one thing I will ask of you... ", he straightened up, looking at the monkey, "Will you please keep me informed about anything that happens in this matter?"

Enma's lips formed a soft smile before he nodded: "How could I not?", he walked to Gaara, looking him straight in the eyes, "I know that this is the place she wants to be... Also I am convinced that this is the place where she belongs to... As her companion I make it my duty to help her in any way possible... "

"Thank you... "

The monkey bowed his head slightly: "I will be leaving now."

Gaara nodded before Enma disappeared in a puff of smoke. Now he was all alone. Solitude... Such a well known feeling to him... As a child he had been alone so much. After meeting Naruto the relationship to his siblings had become better. He had also found a blonde knucklehead to call his friend, but it still felt somewhat lonely. Later on he had found a friend in Bara, exchanging letters with her, sharing his thoughts. The loneliness became less, but even after becoming Kazekage it hadn't disappeared completely. Whenever he came home he would find nothing but cold walls waiting for him. Not that it had bothered him. Not at all. It was something he had been used to for quite a while. But now...

He hated it! He hated it because he knew how warm and comforting his own home could be. Gaara took a deep breath, silently walking to the bed Bara had been using for the past few days. It was cold, abandoned some hours ago. He sat down, the cold invading his body. If he had never known that warmth, he would have never missed it, right? If she had never entered his home, the feeling he had now would have never existed...

His muscles relaxed slowly. His body moved to lay down. He was tired. Oh how he despised the feeling of solitude now. If he had just never let her near him... But he knew that leaving her unprotected had been no option. She had been his friend and he had made a promise to himself. He had promised himself to protect his friends and the people he cared about. He had vowed to protect the village and it's inhabitants. So how could he have left her to her own, miserable destiny? Who knows what would have happened to her if he hadn't taken care of her. Just thinking about the possibilities made his chest ache. Sometimes it seemed as if she'd attract a lot of trouble. Just thinking about Okku made his blood boil. No, he could have never left her unprotected...

Gaara closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of air. Her scent was still lingering on the pillow. The smell of sweet flowers. Somehow it smelled like home. It wasn't like she had changed things in his apartment, no. The furniture was in place. His things remained mostly untouched. She hadn't even dared to buy herself anything but the most necessary items. She had stored her belongings in her backpack even after he had made some room in his closet for her. She had said something about not wanting to invade his privacy any further than she already had. Not much had changed in his apartment. It seemed tidier. The kitchen got used more often, but that was it. Well, not exactly. It had become warmer. Whenever he came home there was someone waiting for him. Someone to ask him what he wanted to eat. Someone who would do anything he would ask of...

_'Whatever you want and I can give you, you can have it! That's a lifetime promise!... _', her words were echoing through his mind, lingering there even after more than a year. It was a promise Bara had yet to keep, especially since he had found something that she had and he wanted. Unfortunately there was no way to ask her of anything unless she was present. Gaara opened his eyes again. He felt very tired, but sleep had yet to become something known to him. He tried blaming the fact that he had never slept in his entire life for his insomnia, but that wasn't the whole truth. His subconsciousness was playing its part in keeping him wake. It was because he would feel guilty for having a pleasant rest while his special person was in danger...

* * *

"Temari-san? You are leaving Suna again?", a male spoke to the blonde. He was one of the gate's guards.

She raised her head, looking at the sky. It was dark, stars glittering from the heavens: "Already? It's the middle of night... I'd rather say I'm late... ", she said it more to herself than to the guard.

"But you just came a few days ago. And what about Kazekage-sama? He just came back today. Aren't you going to keep an eye on him after all that happened?", he seemed a bit concerned.

"Gaara is old enough to take care of himself. Besides why do you think he became Kazekage?", she gave him an annoyed look.

"Ah, of course, Temari-san. Have a safe trip then", he bowed. Temari just nodded before she ran away into the ocean of sand she would have to cross. The guard stood there, watching her figure as she was getting smaller and smaller. As she had disappeared out of his sight the sound of a flute reached his ears, '_Sandstorm warning... _'...

* * *

96 hours. 96 hours had passed. The blonde Kunoichi panted exhausted as her eyes finally touched Konoha's gates. 78 out of 96 hours of thinking about what could be happening to her friends and family while she was gone. She couldn't deny that she was worried about her brothers, Bara and others. In fact she was slowly panicking. It didn't help at all, that Gaara had just died a few days ago. Of course he was revived, but that surely wouldn't happen a second time. All that had happened had opened her eyes to the cost of her lifestyle. She could lose a beloved person at every second without being able to help...

Doubts had invaded everything in her mind while traveling. Was she able to help save her friend? Would she be able to save the people she cared for when it came to it? Was she strong enough?

Even after beating up a pack of bandits that had assaulted her she couldn't help but doubt. Temari had been extremely cruel to those guys, venting some of her bottled up feelings onto them. Usually she wouldn't develop the need to vent since she tended to fight back whatever would be thrown onto her. Armed with her lips and her fan there was hardly a situation she couldn't handle. However... Now that she undeniably knew how easy it was to loose someone, she simply felt weak, vulnerable. It was something she had never been confronted with before. As a child she had been afraid to be killed by her younger, bloodthirsty brother, but that had never mattered much to her. As time passed and her strength grew, as she learned to love her brothers as family she felt strong and safe. She knew that nothing could happen anymore...

And that was the way she kept thinking until a message had reached her eyes. A message saying that her friend was most probably dead. Ever since then her confidence had been left with a crack on it's surface. And it grew as she slowly realized how easy it was to take a human's life. No, not even that. What scared her the most was the fact how easy it was to lose someone that was close to herself. That was something she just couldn't handle. Neither mentally nor physically. She had no clue as to how she could ease her mind of this fear, of her doubts...

Gathering her seemingly unbreakable composure she had settled for doing whatever she could to help her friend while her mind became more and more fragile. Temari had finally reached Konoha, even if delayed by sandstorms and an assault. She was late, but she was there. She looked up to the sky before walking to the guards. Heaven's den was clouded by darkness, not even a single star was shining.

"Temari-san?", the guards had to know her face because was the official Chunin exams commissioner of Sunagakure, "The third part of the exams start just in a few weeks. You're back early."

"I am here on a different matter. I need an appointment with the Hokage as soon as possible."

"It's late and I'm afraid you can't get one before tomorrow, but I can try and look if she is still available. However, you know that we can't let you just wander around the village without an escort... "

"Then get me one!", that sentence had left her lips with a little more rudeness than she had intended to present.

"No need to be rude Temari-san. Konoha and Suna are allies and I don't have any personal issues with you."

"Sorry... I didn't mean it that way... It's just... ", she took a deep breath, trying to calm down, "Nevermind... Just go get me someone. Anybody is fine... "

"It's okay. We can understand that you must be on an edge after all that happened. I'll be on my way to find the Hokage. Somebody will be sent to you and certainly arrive in a few minutes", the guard bowed slightly before disappearing.

Minutes past and nothing happened. Temari began biting her thumb, it was the first sign of her feeling uncomfortable or nervous. A little later she added some walking to her movement. The second guard kept watching her: "Everything fine?"

'_NO... Nothing is fine right now... _', she stopped, taking one more breath of fresh air, "Sure... everything fine... I just hope my escort is here soon... "

"Sooner than it could make me happy... ", an annoyed murmur reached her ear. It had been hardly audible, but she had heard it.

"Excuse me?!", her eyes fell upon a certain pineapple headed boy. His face looked surprised for a moment: "Yes, I heard you... ", Temari had answered his question just a second before he could move his lips.

He sighed: "Troublesome woman... "

"I assume that you are my escort, Shikamaru?", she closed her eyes.

"Huh?... ", confusedly he looked at her.

"What?"

There was something different about her, but he couldn't actually put a finger on it: "Nevermind... "

"Are you my escort or not?", her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her eyes gazing to the far lights that resembled the Hokage's tower.

"Yes, I am... "

"Then let's go. I have no time to waste", she walked past him into the village without giving him a second glance.

Now he was sure that something wasn't right. The blond Kunoichi would never miss an opportunity to argue with him about anything. Hell, she even said his actual name! The situation had just become a lot more troublesome than Shikamaru had actually expected. And that in the middle of the night... Sighing he followed the woman.

About half an hour passed before Temari finally met with the Hokage. Shikamaru had observed her until then. He had seen her biting her thumb, restlessly walking from one side to the other on the six square feet she had chosen unconsciously. He kept his eye on her just in case she would lose it. Judging by her actions that could happen any second. He knew that the blonde had a slight hang to aggression. Be it physical or verbal. That was an undeniable part of her character. Luckily just one of many. Temari was most of the time reasonable and he knew how to handle that. But at times like these he kept his shadow ready, just in case...

"You're lucky that I was working overtime tonight, Temari. What brings you here? I presume that it must be something important since you came back faster than I had expected... ", a honey eyed blonde had spoken.

"Indeed, I... We... ", she seemed lost for words, something that neither the Hokage nor Shikamaru had ever seen happen. Temari looked through the room, only finding her escort and the Hokage: "Tsunade-san... I have a personal request from my brother, the Kazekage... "

"Personal request?", the busty woman seemed surprised, "Is that the reason you came here and not a messenger bird?"

"Yes... Gaara wants as less people as possible to know about this. As far as Naruto goes he leaves that decision to you."

"You intrigue me. How exactly is this connected to Naruto?"

"I believe you know that Gaara considers him to be a close friend of his... "

"That is one of the reasons he was sent to aid you in the matter of Akatsuki... "

"There is a second connection between this request and Naruto... Orochimaru is involved... "

The room became completely silent for a few seconds. Why the sudden interest in Orochimaru? Tsunade had thought that that snake bastard would be no issue to Suna ever since he had freed the village from Yondaime's iron grip. Even if it had never been his intention to help the village hidden in the sand. So what was Gaara after? Revenge for his father's murder? Surely not...

"I'm all ears... ", honey eyes fell upon Temari.

"One of Suna's villagers was abducted by some of Orochimaru's lackeys... Since Konoha has great interest in catching Orochimaru we request and offer aid in this matter."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. She knew that there had to be more to the whole thing: "And why exactly is this one villager so important?"

"That information is classified. All we want is to have her back and safe in Sunagakure."

"Her? We're talking about a female?"

Temari cursed herself inwardly before answering: "Yes. The villager abducted by Orochimaru is a female. What does it matter?"

"Let me get this straight. You come here with a personal request by your brother to save an abducted villager which is female?"

"Yes."

"So this whole thing is about a love interest?"

"Excuse me?!", Temari clenched her fists. She was tensing up unconsciously, ready to explode any second now.

"I'm asking if we are supposed to save his girlfriend or something."

"I believe that is none of your interest... "

Tsunade smirked: "I tend to think that I decide for myself if something is worth my interest... or my time."

"What are you implying?"

"Well, currently I am asking myself if you are wasting my time. Because if this is a rescue mission just for one of your brother's girlfriends, I'm not sure if it is worth the lives of Konoha shinobi. I'm pretty sure that the girl you are talking about is easier to replace than-", the sudden collision of Temari's fist with Tsunade's wooden desk silenced the room. Luckily Shikamaru had reacted quick enough to stop Temari from breaking the desk. His shadow was keeping her in place and he wouldn't let go unless Tsunade said so.

"I'm so freaking tired of hearing people talk bad about such a good person! First she gets accused of being a spy or a traitor and now you are telling me that her life is worth nothing? She saved hundreds of lives, nearly dying in the process! Excuse me, but if Naruto can go after Orochimaru out of pure friendship why can't Gaara go for love?!", she huffed exhausted.

"So it's really true then?", Tsunade smiled, "It seems that boy is coming along rather well... You look surprised, Temari. Did you really think that I wouldn't provide any help? I guess I'm not as bad at acting as Shizune likes to tell me. You can let her go, Shikamaru."

Temari gritted her teeth, '_Such a sneaky old... I'm really not myself lately. How could I fall for such a cheap trick? I need to get this done soon so I can get outta here... _', she knew that she was on the verge of breaking. Her mask could fade any second now and it would take a while to build it up again. There was not an ounce of her that would let anybody see her falling apart: "Don't play jokes on me Tsunade-san. The situation might be much worse than you think. You don't actually believe that Orochimaru just took her for the sake of having a hostage, do you? He's not the type for something like that. I doubt that he has reason to threaten Sunagakure while he seeks to destroy Konoha. He knows that both villages are allies and that one single human life surely wouldn't tip the balance. And just so that you know. Nobody knew what feelings Gaara had for Bara until after she was kidnapped. And when I say nobody, I mean NOBODY... "

"Bara?", Shikamaru had spoken her name unconsciously as both women's eyes moved upon his figure.

Temari: "If you're thinking about our little, white haired friend, your thinking right."

Tsunade: "You know the person she's talking about?"

Shikamaru: "I actually do. She is an acquaintance of Asuma and I dare to say that he is quite fond of her. As far as I know they exchange letters regularly... He might want to know about this... "

Tsunade: "I see... Temari?"

Temari: "Yes?"

Tsunade: "Would it be alright to pass some information about this to Asuma?"

Temari nodded: "I also believe that he might want to know... "

Tsunade: "Something else. What do you think Orochimaru trying to achieve by abducting that girl?"

Temari bit her lip: "I've heard some rumors about him once... They were saying something about experiments on human beings... "

"I can assure you that those rumors are true. He is a reckless scientist, torturing and killing people if it benefits him... I'm afraid that your friend is dead by now... ", Tsunade exhaled, sighing slightly in the process.

"She is alive. We know that her abductors were taking care to leave her unharmed and alive... ", unfortunately that didn't calm her nerves at all. Who knew what she was going through at the moment. Temari knew that there were much worse things than death.

"Many of his victims that actually survived his experiments had wished for their own deaths, so that's not necessarily a good thing to hear... "

"I am aware of that... But she is strong willed. I doubt that she would let anything get to her like that... "

Tsunade eyed the woman in front of her carefully before stealing a short glance towards Shikamaru. She wanted to choose her next words carefully, but that would turn out to be a very hard task: "Temari... Either way we may look at the situation, I'm afraid that we can't do anything about it now... "

"**What?! Didn't you just say that you'd provide us with help?**", her form had frozen in a rather strange position, like ripped out of motion. Shikamaru had released his shadow earlier on her than last time.

"Team 7 was sent out this morning to find Orochimaru's current hideout. I can't tell how far they have come until now or which route they have taken to their destination. Their current mission is relying strongly on remaining undetected. If another team were to follow them it would be a great threat to their mission. Also we have no way of sending them any messages. My hands are shackled until they come back. However I am sure that they will have as much common sense as to take care of whoever they will find in Orochimaru's lair and is in need of aid. I hope you understand that the current situation is not influenceable... "

Temari's face had turned to stone. Nobody could tell what was going on in her mind. She just stood there, staring into nowhere. It took her a while before she could talk again: "Tsunade-san... I would like to leave... I have no more to say now... "

"I understand. Please try to take a rest and calm down. It's late anyway... Shikamaru, please proceed as her escort. Furthermore it is your task to inform Asuma about this abduction, but keep the conversation private. This matter doesn't concern anybody else. Both of you may leave... ", Tsunade seemed to return to some paperwork she had been attending to before the Suna Kunoichi had entered her office.

Temari, now freed from the shadow's grip, turned around silently and left. Shikamaru followed closely. About five minutes after leaving the blonde raised her voice again: "Bring me to a place people use to spar."

"Wouldn't it be better if you'd check into a hotel and go to sleep?"

Immediately she shot him a glare: "Training ground - NOW... "

Shikamaru didn't dare to utter another word since Temari had yet to calm down. Escorting her was troublesome enough, he surely didn't need her beating him up in addition. NO! He just decided to bring her to wherever she wanted to go. For now...

Soon they had reached a place which seemed suitable for her wishes. It was dark, just enough light to see about two feet ahead. Temari went to one of the big trees that were surrounding the place and readied her fan. A moment of complete silence passed and Shikamaru noticed that she wasn't using her usual battle stance, the fan was closed.

Suddenly a loud crack was heard. It was the sound of breaking wood, forcibly breaking wood. Another crack followed before the first could die away and another one after that. Shikamaru was standing at a safe distance from Temari, watching her slam her iron fan against the tree over and over again. This went on and he tried not to give many thoughts to her actions until he slowly noticed another noise besides of the loud cracks. She seemed to be saying something. He concentrated, trying to figure what she was saying. It didn't take him long to tell that she was swearing and... Did he dare to think it? Sobbing? The strong woman he knew and secretly liked was actually crying? He couldn't believe it at first, but the unmistakeable truth reached his ears again and again...

"**FUCK!!!**", her fan fell to the ground as she fell to her knees. She was exhausted, she was frustrated, but most of all she was afraid. For the first time in her life she had lost control of something important to her. She was afraid of what might happen now that she couldn't even move the tiniest of gears in the giant machinery called life. She felt of no use and helpless. There was nothing she could do. NOTHING...

"You want to sleep now?", Shikamaru was kneeling next to her.

She had totally forgotten about him. Things just seemed to get worse for Temari. He wasn't supposed to see her weak side, EVER. She wiped away her tears and gave him a smirk before giving him a sarcastic remark: "Now you've got me on toast. Happy?"

"You on toast? That would be too troublesome... I don't even know what you're talking about."

She scoffed: "Yeah, right. Like Mr. genius would have no idea of what's happening right in front of his nose... Don't play me for a sucker! You've just seen something nobody was supposed to know about. You've seen my weakness... "

He looked slightly annoyed: "Man, I was just asking if you want to go to sleep now... ", he stood up, "Besides... ", his face turned away, making his words harder to understand, "It's only human... "

"You're not gonna use this against me? Like for example to shut me up when I annoy you?"

"Can't we just leave? I'm having more than enough lack of sleep now, due to this... "

Temari remained silent, trying her best to calm down while wiping away her last tears. This procedure took her some minutes and by the time she looked back at Shikamaru she saw him offering his hand for help. This was just embarrassing. First she'd loose it in front of him completely, then cry and then accuse him of things he hadn't even done. Her pride was damaged awfully bad, so why not just accept the offer?

Hesitantly, almost shyly she reached for his hand. Their fingers intertwined and soon she was back on her feet. Their bodies were mere inches apart but she couldn't help but feel incredibly far away. He wasn't looking at her. Their hands had yet to part, but somehow she didn't mind it at all.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm?", he turned to face her.

Her heart skipped a beat. Now she had officially reached ground zero of her pride. Could she dare to say that she felt happy? Especially in the current situation. Could she even allow herself to feel something like happiness then and there? Well, what else could she do? Bitterly she reminded herself of the fact that she was absolutely helpless. But then why care? If there was nothing she could do to help, there was also nothing she could do to make it worse, right? Theoretically she could do whatever she wanted... Especially now that she had no more pride to lose...

"Shikamaru?"

"What?", he looked slightly annoyed. It seemed like he had completely forgotten about his hand and the fact how close Temari was to him. As Temari's lips suddenly touched his he came back to his full senses. A tide of self-consciousness hit him, causing his body to petrify. It seemed like his day (or rather night) was filled with quite a number of things he had never expected to see, hear or feel.

They parted and Temari could feel her heart fluttering from the sweet sin she had allowed herself to have a taste of. It's not like she wasn't allowed to do whatever she wanted, but she knew that this could end in hating herself the very next morning. How could she let herself slip into happiness when so many things in her world were turned upside down? And why couldn't she care less at the moment? So many things were wreaking havoc inside of her head. In the end she decided to let his hand go to go and pick up her fan. It wasn't like he had responded to her actions anyway. Probably her feelings weren't mutual. She couldn't tell. Maybe she'd better apologize and go to sleep. She needed a rest...

"Sorry... ", she mumbled, almost whispering. She tried letting go of his hand, but he wouldn't let her.

A smirk played across his lips: "How about you stop being troublesome for once in your life and let me accept that invitation of yours?", he captured her lips without warning into a longing kiss.

Temari gave in, letting herself fall into that undescribable feeling. For this one moment on that night, she would push all dark thoughts into the unreachable parts of her mind. Just that one moment, just that one night. Or at least for then and there. Maybe even a bit longer. She lost her sense of time and couldn't tell anymore. Bliss. She finally understood what that one word meant. No more thought was consumed by her abducted friend that night...

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**Yes. I am a ShikaTema shipper as you might have noticed ^^**

**So this chapter had a lot of Temari's inner demons. All the happenings are affecting quite a number of people not just the obvious ones...

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**Sneak Preview:**

**Kabuto: Don't make this harder than it has to be, Aimi...**

**Aimi: Like I'd just let you poke and prod me like a rat...**

**Kabuto: You should slowly realize that you can't win this fight...

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**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


	30. Carrot and Stick

White Rose

**Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy!!! A new chapter is out!!! Geez, I'm sooo happy to be finally done with this one because things are starting to get very interesting from now on. Don't you think?**

**Yes, I know I'm late. Yes, I am terribly sorry. I hope the next updates won't take as long as the last ones. I won't blab very much this time because I don't want to keep you guys from reading.**

**Thank you goes to the people who reviewed the last chapter: Akari Wolf Princess, Mana Hamasaki, katarauchiha653719, Animestar001 and IXLoveXMyXFishy**

**Next thank you goes to Akari Wolf Princess, Shina no Miko and Mana Hamasaki for the story alert**

**More thank you goes to zeroblade63 for the fave**

**SPOILERWARNING: Some happenings from Naruto Shippuuden are mentioned in this chapter. Even if they are just tiny little hints. I've warned you! ^^°**

**Rates and especially reviews are highly welcome and keep me motivated to develop this story, don't forget that you don't need an account to do so**

**Last but not least: Have fun**

**I do not own Naruto**

Story

**Author's commentary/Yelling**

_Thoughts/Dreams/Memories

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_

Carrot and Stick

A dog on a leash. That's how she felt. A dog on a leash, trapped in a cage, tortured by it's owner... That's what she was to them. An animal that existed for the soul purpose of their entertainment. And their understanding of entertainment was anything else than pleasant. So why act human if she wasn't treated like one? There was no reason for her to act nice, not like the first time she had entered this hell...

Back then she had been with all of those children. At first she had been egoistic. The only thing on her mind was to comfort herself, make it better for herself. However, that had changed soon. Seeing all of those children being miserable she couldn't help but feel guilty for being such an egoist. That's when she started taking care of them as much as she could. With time she even found comfort in helping others. At least for the times when nothing happened. Those rare times, when nobody would have to deal with side effects of whatever they were given. At those times she would forget the fact that she could be the next to get sick and die. At those times she would talk to the children, try to give them hope, comfort them... And that's what had kept her sane. It had kept her... human...

And now? It was the same like after she'd been separated from what she could have called her friends. A dank little cage, the cold ground as her bed and insanity waiting to get her every second. But she hadn't been brought to that place from the very beginning. On her first day she used to have a bed. A very comfortable one in a clean room, but she had refused to be a "good girl" and cooperate with her captors. There was not a single fiber in her body that would obey that monstrous bastard that brought this hell upon her existence. And that would never change. Even if she were to lose her memory...

A sudden crack indicated that someone was about to unlock the door. Aimi's eyes opened to find nothing but pure black. They always left her in complete darkness. She guessed they did that to decrease her chances of fleeing. She based that on the fact that she was unable to orient herself properly in the dark. Most of her time in there she would be staying on a single spot and sleep. Light touched her eyes as the door opened, causing her to blink uncontrollably.

"Hey... You okay?", a male voice grazed her ear.

She knew that voice for quite a while now: "Ryoga... "

"Don't be too happy now. They'll be coming to get you soon... ", he placed a candle on a small table near the entrance.

"I see... ", Aimi sat up, the sound of moving chains echoing through the small room.

Ryoga closed the door before moving closer to the metallic bars that separated the room: "As usual... ", he placed a tray with food on the ground and pushed it through the bars before sitting on the ground. His eyes settled upon the hardly visible shape of the female prisoner. The candle provided just enough light to allow proper eating and some other small actions.

The rattling of chains reached both their ears again. Aimi was slowly crouching towards the food. A sudden clank was heard and her movement stopped. Yes, they had taken care that she hung on a very short leash. She used her left hand to reach out for the tray, exposing a bandaged hand to the light.

"What happened to your hand?", as fast as he had spoken those words her hand had retracted back into the dark.

Her eyes fell upon the place where her pinky used to be and the bloody bandages hiding an aching wound that wouldn't heal on it's own. Memories flashed before her eyes. She had fought Kabuto tooth and nail, she had even managed to scratch his cheek bloody, but it had been no use. As soon as she was able to struggle he would pump drugs into her system. That's what he always did. He would wait until she couldn't move anything but her eyes before loosening her shackles.

_"I am not seeking to torture you, Aimi, but you must learn that everything you do has consequences... You are not a child anymore, you should understand... ", his cold eyes looked as they had frozen, "As a punishment for your resistance I will not give you any painkiller until I'm finished here... ", and as he was done talking he rammed a scalpel through her flesh and bone. He continued cutting off her finger without caring about the massive pain he was driving through the girl._

_Aimi's eyes were opened wide while tears overflowed. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream in agony, but her voice wouldn't come. Her heartbeat quickened and her breathing became shallow, but nothing else happened. At least nothing that could be heard or seen by somebody else. In her mind she was despairing, crying, praying, screaming endlessly. And he just looked at her with that blank stare. Maybe it wasn't visible on his face or in his eyes, but she had a feeling that he was somehow enjoying her miserable sight._

_Blood came flowing out of the wound and all he did was take care of the finger he had just cut off. From time to time he would step back from analyzing her finger to watch more crimson liquid flow out of her, but she wouldn't know much more. She had fainted shortly after the dismemberment._

Aimi shivered. She just couldn't get that cold gaze out of her mind: "I... don't want to talk about it... "

"Whatever suits you... ", Ryoga pushed the tray farther so she could reach it. Thankful she took the food and ate. Her cell was uncomfortable, but at least they took care of her health. He just kept watching her for a while: "You mentally still fine?"

"As fine as I could be in my situation, I guess... "

"I am quite surprised that you are holding up so well. I've seen others loose their sanity for less... "

"It's because I made a promise to... somebody that was very important to me... I intend to keep that promise for as long as I live... "

He continued watching her in silence. Why was she so special? Why was Orochimaru so interested in her? She talked like any other human, she ate like any other human, she looked like any other human... But who was he to judge a book by it's cover? He wasn't an unwritten page himself...

"Thank you... ", Aimi pushed the tray back to him. She was done eating.

Ryoga took the tray, but remained on his spot staring at her: "You are aware of the fact, that I still owe you my life?"

"Yes."

"Then why not ask me to do something?"

"The situation is difficult. If I would request you to help me I would only put your life at stake and I am not the person to do such things... Never been... ", she crouched back to the spot she had been staying at first, "I'm sure you'll find something to make it up to me somehow... Whenever that might be... "

"You're strange... I am even inclined to go as far as to say irrational. Every normal human in your situation would do anything to get out of this place. And I mean ANYTHING... "

"Don't get me wrong. I'd rather be dead than in this hell, but I don't want to die in here... I'd do many things to get out of here. I'd fight. I'd struggle. I'd try diplomacy. Whatever might come to my head and fits the situation... However... There is one thing I will never do. I will neither risk a life or take it. I am no killer, I am a protector... What's so strange about not being able to see people die?... Or at least people I don't... hate... ", her eyes glued themselves to the small candle, _'After loosing HIM my heart is unable to take anymore damage... I can feel it... '. _Slowly she closed her eyes, exhaling calmly. How she wished her heart wouldn't hurt as much as it did. If she hadn't been shackled with chakra blocking material she would have at least tried to freeze up her heart.

She wanted to stop caring completely. She wanted to make sure that nothing would be able to get to her ever again. Simply speaking she wanted to be a heartless lump of flesh, but she couldn't. Her emotions were too strong. She couldn't change the essence of what made her the person she was. Besides, she still had some promises to keep. A broken heart wouldn't stop her from keeping her promises. Of course it made her life miserable and moving on more than just difficult, but she just had to try and at least live with it even if she would never be able to cope... Or at least she had to get out of that pit of agony she was currently trapped in.

The door suddenly opened, breaking the silence that had built up between the two. Kabuto stood in front of the entrance. Aimi cowered back farther into her corner where she could be as far away from him as possible. Kabuto's eyes stoically wandered from the girl to the candle and then to Ryoga who stood up with tray in hand: "Why are you still here? Didn't you bring her food about an hour ago?"

"She ate very slowly. It looked like she was rather forcing herself to eat. I think she might have caught an illness. It could be caused by stress-"

"Did I ask you for your opinion?"

"No, Kabuto-sama... "

"You better leave now. I am sure that you have more important things to do than standing here and delaying my work."

"Of course, Kabuto-sama... ", Ryoga bowed and left. As he walked away he could hear ruckus coming from Aimi's cell. She never left that room without a fight. The noise died down rather quick because Kabuto had lost his patience, _'Something must have pissed him off... Was probably me... '_

Ryoga turned a corner and leaned himself against the wall, inhaling deeply. What a coward he was to let that girl suffer the way she did... He wanted to help her flee, but all the scenarios in his head ended awfully bad. He knew there was a chance that everything would work out pretty fine, but he was too much of a coward to try if there was a chance of more than five percent that he would fail. Numbers ran through his head, plans were made, but none of them seemed to fit. At least not yet...

"Ryogaaa!!", female arms snuck themselves around his neck as a sickly sweet voice entered his ear.

"Midori... ", his response was as stiff as his body since he hadn't noticed her.

"Gee, I finally found you! I was looking for you for about forty minutes now! Where have you been?", he opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by the blonde, "No, don't tell me now, I want to show you something! Look what Kabuto got me!", she let go of him and pointed a finger towards her face.

His eyes wandered to said place and immediately he noticed that the patch that usually hid her missing eye was gone. Instead he found a brown colored eye looking back at him: "He gave you a new eye?"

"YEAH! Isn't that great?!"

"I thought it was impossible to implant a new eye because your nerves were damaged too much?"

"Kabuto said that it had something to do with some recent research. My guess is that it has to do with that bitch who initially cost me my eye... ", her voice had seemingly turned into a low growl as she mentioned Aimi.

Ryoga's face hardened and his eyes froze as he heard Midori talking so lowly about the actual victim: "I see... I have things to do. Don't follow me... "

"Huh?!", her face dropped, "What's with the attitude all of a sudden?!"

He ignored her and left.

"**Hey! Come back here now!**", she was angry.

He turned for a second and glared at her menacingly to shut her up. Unfortunately that made her just more angry. She glared at his back furiously, '_What the hell is wrong with him?!',_ then she noticed the tray,_ 'He's been with her this long?!', _that thought made her fume. Stomping she made her way to Aimi's cell. On her way she found Kabuto carrying said girl around. Midori stopped and immediately a smirk played across her lips as she noticed blood coming from the girl's mouth and nose, '_So they treat you bad, huh? You so deserve it, bitch... _'.

Kabuto noticed the blonde: "What's so funny?"

"Just enjoying that miserable sight of her... Don't mind me... ", she gave him a coy grin.

He walked away, ignoring her. He had much better things to do...

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Aimi woke up in Kabuto's lab to the sound of clattering metal. She had a headache and felt nauseous. She couldn't remember how she got there or how she had lost consciousness, but somehow she had a feeling that she actually didn't want to know.

"We are done for today. How are you feeling?", Kabuto stood next to her, his back facing her.

"Headache. Nauseous", she kept her answers short, because he liked them that way. She had learned not to disobey answering him when he asked questions concerning her health. It turned out to be more helpful for herself than him. After all he'd make sure she'd stay healthy most of the time.

"Can you walk?"

"I think... "

"The faster you walk, the faster you can be back in your room."

Aimi nodded. Kabuto knew that she was always relieved to be brought back to her cell, even if she hated being a prisoner. He took advantage of her hatred towards his lab. After all she hated being in his lab for a very good reason.

A few minutes later they walked through the mazelike corridors of Orochimaru's dungeon. Aimi took care to keep up his pace so he wouldn't yank her chain and choke her in the process. Soon... Soon she could be at a less horrifying place...

"We're here", he lighted a torch in her cell before fastening her back in place. Then he left, closing the door behind him.

Incredulously her eyes stared at the lit torch. Had he forgotten it there? Or would he come back? But why would he come back? He never came back that fast! Maybe this was her chance. As long as she could see everything in her cell she could search for a weakness in her chains or something. She had no time to waste!

Immediately she looked at everything in her room, searching for the tiniest of things she might use to free herself. Unfortunately she found nothing. She would have tried brute force despite darkness or light, but her body wasn't quite known for strength. She was fast, she was flexible, but strong? Especially in her current state... On the other hand. What did she have to lose?

Determined she grabbed her leash and hit the wall with it where she was chained to. She tried weakening the integrity of the wall, '_Metal is harder than stone. This should theoretically work... _'

She managed to break out some small fragments. Her hopes went up, causing her to fight harder and the noise she was making to become louder. Her mind was so focused on getting out that she completely ignored the awfully loud noise she was making. She was sure that her room was soundproof anyway since she never heard any sound from outside her cell.

After a while she stopped hitting and started pulling her leash with as much force as she could come up with. Suddenly the door swung open with great force, crashing against the wall. Shocked her hands slipped from the chain, making her fall backwards. Aimi hit her head hard and was chocking on her metallic collar. She sat up as fast as possible, trying to catch her breath while somebody walked into her room.

"You woke me from my sleep... ", the voice was dry.

Aimi was still coughing from her sudden lack of air and had yet to notice the intruder.

"**Pay attention!**"

Surprised she turned to the voice and saw a boy standing right in front of her cage. She hadn't seen him before.

"You woke me from my sleep. I don't like being disturbed in my sleep... "

"How did I disturb you?", she was still calming her breath.

"You make an awful lot of noise. It's impossible not to hear next door. Stop it!"

So he'd been sleeping next door? Interesting. Her eyes roamed his form quickly. She spotted weapons. Maybe she could use him. Judging by his appearance and the way he acted he was a person that didn't necessarily like being disobeyed. Even though he looked calm, she could tell that he was at least annoyed. Maybe it was her, maybe it was him. She didn't care, but she'd use it.

"Make me", she was challenging him.

"You will do as I say. End of discussion... ", his voice was calm.

"Oh, yeah? Who do you think you are, huh?"

"Obviously in a better position than you are. You better shut up and do as I say before I lose my temper."

Aimi stood up: "**Screw you!** I'm not afraid of you! I do what I want!"

"What you want? You're in a cage and tied to the wall behind you."

"So what?! That surely didn't stop me from waking you up, did it? Besides as long as I'm in here you can't touch me. Or are you afraid of fighting someone that is better than you? I bet your parents would be very proud to know that their son is a wuss! But wait! If you're such a wimp then your parents must be even worse! I'm sure they-", in the blink of an eye he had used his Katana to cut open the cages lock, the door stood open wide.

"Will you shut up now?"

"N-No... I could have done that too. I'm not impressed at all... ", the door was open, but she still had to get rid of her chains, "Like I said. Make me... "

He took a step closer to her, making chills go down her spine. The closer he came the more afraid she was. Maybe this was getting out of hands. She might have underestimated him and she surely overestimated herself. This couldn't end well.

"Jerk... Bastard... Son of a bitch... ", she was running out of ideas.

"My name is Sasuke."

"Oh so you want me to call you that?", she made a step backwards before acting as if she were a fangirl or something, "Sasuke-kuuuun", she was disgusted by her own sickly sweet voice. Unexpectedly his movement stopped for a second. Had she hit a sensitive spot? He seemed absent.

Carefully she tried to take his Katana but was stopped by his hand: "That is no toy for you", swiftly he grabbed her collar and pressed her against the wall so that her feet couldn't reach the floor.

"That all you've got?"

"You'll find the answer in my eyes... "

She looked into his eyes and suddenly noticed that she hadn't looked at them at all until then. They looked strange. They were red with black symbols. She'd never seen such eyes. To her surprise he was very busy staring into her eyes, leaving an opening for her to attack.

Aimi's right foot pressed against his Katana, lifting her higher and forcing his hand to let go. Her left foot kicked his pouch causing Shuriken, Kunais and Scrolls to fly up to her arm's reach. Quickly she grabbed a Kunai out of the air and used the wall as a help to kick him away. After landing back on her feet she turned to her chain. She wanted to break the chain and run away as far as possible, but it never came to that.

Sasuke had recovered from her kick very fast. He made a quick step towards her, grabbed her arm that was holding the Kunai, yanked her around, grabbed her other arm too and pinned her hard against the wall: "You are very annoying!"

The girl kept silent. This man was close. Very close. Too close for her taste.

"Lost your tongue?"

Her face slowly reddened. Nobody was allowed to get this close to her. She hated it. She wanted him to stop, but the words wouldn't come out. The whole position reminded her too much of an encounter that was more than just special to her. Not much longer and she'd break into tears.

"I could kill you now... "

"What's keeping you?"

"I have a question for you."

"Make it quick."

"Why didn't my Gen-Jutsu work?"

"Like I know... Now either you kill me or you let me go... "

"Are you in such a hurry to die?"

"I... I just don't like it when men come this close to me... ", dreadfully she closed her eyes and bit her lip.

"... Let go of my Kunai and I might think about it."

"You afraid I might attack you again?", she opened her eyes, letting the tears fall silently, "I didn't injure you till now did I? I haven't really attacked you either. I have no interest in killing you. I just want to leave this hell... Please... It's so horrible here... ", the Kunai fell to the ground.

Silence spread just to be interrupted by a third person: "Sasuke-kun?! What happened here?"

His head turned to the voice: "I got woken from my sleep."

"Is the girl alright? Is she harmed?"

Sasuke pushed all the weapons that lay inside of her reach away and let her completely go. Aimi's body slowly sank to the floor. She had lost. Now that Kabuto was there her chances to flee had minimized to zero.

"She's fine, but I am not. Put her into a different cell. I want my sleep... ", slowly he walked away, "And you might want to take care of the weapons and scrolls she sprawled all over the floor... "

Kabuto watched Sasuke disappear before he closed the rooms door. Silently he walked to her shaking body. She was crying bitterly and it made him wonder what Sasuke had done to her. He put a small glass filled with some unknown fluid next to her: "Against nausea... ", then he picked up everything from the floor and placed it on the small table in the room. Silent sobs reached his ears in the meanwhile and as he listened he could hear her calling a certain name...

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**Oh crap... She almost got herself killed. Where will this all end? And When? Or How? Why do they have to torture her so much?! And what the hell did Kabuto find out with the help of his research?**

**Gee, I hate that blonde girl, Midori. She's so blind ans selfish! I wonder where that might end... Probably not very good...

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**Sneak Preview:**

**Kabuto: The research is progressing faster than I had expected. I must say that Aimi is a fascinating specimen.**

**Orochimaru: What about results?**

**Kabuto: We have excellent results in many ways, but unfortunately we can hardly use any of them...**

**Orochimaru: How exactly does our next step look like now?...

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**And PLEASE, PLEASE review my dear readers ^^°**


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